LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva on Wednesday threatened his department would quit patrolling Metro’s transit system unless the agency’s board gives the him full control over security on the sprawling network of trains and buses.
Villanueva made the demand as the current contract — under which the Sheriff’s Department splits law enforcement responsibilities with the Los Angeles and Long Beach police departments — is set to expire this summer. The LAPD patrols a majority of the transit system, 325 sheriff’s deputies are responsible for about a third of it, and Long Beach police handle a tiny fraction.
“So effective July 1, we will redeploy, absent a position from the board that they’re going to accept our entire contract,” Villanueva said, adding there are vacancies across the department where he could reassign the deputies. “I have three jobs waiting for every single person assigned to the MTA right now.”
