At this point in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department decent into ignominy, it's clear to even the casual observer that Sheriff Alex Villanueva isn't just willing to play in the mud, he seems to enjoy it like a hog in a heatwave.
But with the upcoming election and the numerous headlines our sheriff generates, the significance of one of Villanueva's recent stunts has largely sunk in the mire. Let me pull it back to the top, because it has big implications not just for our sheriff, but for sheriffs across the state and for those who care about criminal justice reform.
As my colleague Alene Tchekmedyian reported, Villanueva recently wrote to California Attorney General Rob Bonta asking him to investigate whether county Supervisor Sheila Kuehl and others were tipped off prior to the Sheriff's Department serving search warrants on them. Continuing a long-running hissy fit against any type of oversight, Villanueva accused L.A. County Inspector General Max Huntsman of contacting Kuehl and others the night before to warn them.
