A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge is calling on the county to show that it is acting ethically and professionally in a lawsuit by the L.A. County Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission seeking Sheriff\u2019s Department records related to three use-of-force incidents.<\/p>\n
In a five-page tentative ruling on Aug. 24, Judge Jerrold Abeles criticized an \u201cobvious conflict of interest\u201d and \u201ca shocking breach of an attorney\u2019s ethical duties to a client\u201d \u2014 namely the oversight body \u2014 by the county counsel\u2019s office. <\/p>\n
The following day, the court set a Sept. 17 date for a hearing on an order to show cause \u201cregarding whether the County Counsel has a conflict of interest, and should be ordered to appoint independent counsel for the\u201d Civilian Oversight Commission.<\/p>\n
On Friday, outside counsel for the county responded in a court filing, writing that \u201cno conflict exists\u201d and that it and the county counsel \u201chave acted appropriately at all times and consistent with long-standing law.\u201d<\/p>\n
In February 2025, the Civilian Oversight Commission issued three subpoenas against the L.A. County Sheriff\u2019s Department for personnel records and other documents associated with an on-duty shooting and two beatings by sheriff\u2019s deputies.<\/p>\n
The Sheriff\u2019s Department has declined to release the unredacted records. The county counsel has argued that they can\u2019t be handed over because they are confidential, and that a \u201cmeet and confer\u201d process between the county and Sheriff\u2019s Department unions must be completed before the documents can be provided.<\/p>\n
The Civilian Oversight Commission has said that such assertions are unfounded, and that state law and court precedent require its subpoenas to be upheld. In June, the oversight body filed the lawsuit<\/a> against the Sheriff\u2019s Department asking for a judge to order the release of the withheld records.<\/p>\n Hans Johnson, the commission\u2019s chairman, heralded the court\u2019s August ruling.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is striking that the judge says you need to come answer in court for this deplorable conduct,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI was happily surprised that the truth of what we have been up against \u2026 was recognized by the court.\u201d<\/p>\n Abeles called into question why the county counsel didn\u2019t obtain outside counsel for the oversight commission, a choice the ruling says raises \u201cserious issues.\u201d He added that the \u201cconduct raises questions about County Counsel\u2019s possible violation of\u201d any of a list of rules of professional conduct.<\/p>\n The county\u2019s outside counsel, Mira Hashmall of Miller Barondess, countered that state law mandates that counties reserve conflict counsel \u2014 essentially, outside attorneys hired to represent an entity due to a conflict of interest \u2014 for \u201cspecific officers\u201d that \u201chave their own statutory duties and authorities separate from a Board of Supervisors,\u201d such as the assessor or sheriff. <\/p>\n Robert Bonner, an attorney for the Civilian Oversight Commission and its former chairman, said in a statement that the commission is pleased that it has the opportunity to make its case before a judge instead of leaving key decisions up to the county counsel.<\/p>\n The Sheriff\u2019s Department declined to comment. <\/p>\n In his ruling, Abeles denied motions to intervene filed by two Sheriff\u2019s Department unions, the Assn. for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs and the Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Assn. <\/p>\n The latter said in a statement that \u201cmeaningful oversight does not require \u2014 and should not be used to justify \u2014 ignoring established collective bargaining obligations or the confidentiality and due-process protections afforded to County employees.\u201d <\/p>\n The records the Civilian Oversight Commission seeks stem from three incidents.<\/p>\n In 2020, a sheriff\u2019s deputy shot<\/a> trade school student Andres Guardado, 18, in the back several times, killing him. The deputy wasn\u2019t charged<\/a> in connection with the shooting. <\/p>\n That same year, deputies severely beat<\/a> Joseph Perez on a San Gabriel Valley street, leaving him in need of 30 stitches and staples in his face and head. The Sheriff\u2019s Department released a report saying Perez had punched and kicked deputies multiple times. <\/p>\n In 2023, a Norwalk deputy beat<\/a> 23-year-old teacher Emmett Brock, a transgender man, in a 7-Eleven parking lot after pulling him over for having an air freshener hanging from his rear-view mirror. The deputy ultimately pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights violation for excessive force.<\/p>\n The oversight board doesn\u2019t have the power to independently issue the subpoenas, Hashmall said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cL.A. County Counsel\u2019s client is the Board of Supervisors, and the Civilian Oversight Commission, like every Board-created commission, is not authorized to act independently of the Board,\u201d the statement said. <\/p>\n Six years ago, county voters approved a measure<\/a> granting the commission subpoena powers. On Jan. 1, a new state law<\/a> cleared the legal pathway for oversight bodies such as the Civilian Oversight Commission to review law enforcement agencies\u2019 confidential personnel records in closed session. <\/p>\n