Los Angeles County\u2019s inspector general is retiring as chief watchdog for the Sheriff\u2019s Department, stepping down from the post he has held since it was created a dozen years ago.<\/p>\n
Max Huntsman, 60, announced his plans in a letter Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been my honor to work with a talented, brave, and tireless group of public servants to ensure that the public knows what its government is doing,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
Huntsman, a former L.A. County prosecutor, also included comments that were critical of how the county has responded to efforts at civilian oversight of the Sheriff\u2019s Department.<\/p>\n
Time and again, he wrote, efforts by his office \u201cwere ignored\u201d by county leaders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe county is putting all its efforts into convincing the public and the courts that it is following the law and has no room to honestly evaluate itself and make the changes it would need to really follow those laws,\u201d Huntsman told The Times in a message early Tuesday. \u201cThat\u2019s not compatible with my oath of office.\u201d<\/p>\n
In stacks of detailed reports<\/a>, the inspector general\u2019s office has described a wide range of abuses and failures by the Sheriff\u2019s Department, the L.A. County Probation Department and county leaders. Huntsman\u2019s office has documented poor conditions in county jails, called out the Sheriff\u2019s Department\u2019s for noncompliance with portions of of the Prison Rape Elimination Act, and criticized the inability or unwillingness of sheriff\u2019s officials to rein in so-called deputy gangs, whose tattooed members have repeatedly been accused of misconduct. <\/p>\n The inspector general\u2019s office has independently investigated hundreds of on-duty shootings by deputies, along with other use-of-force incidents. Under Huntsman\u2019s direction, the office also scrutinized deficiencies in the county\u2019s skilled nursing facilities during the early days of the COVID-19 epidemic.<\/p>\n In 1991, Huntsman graduated from Yale Law school and immediately joined the L.A. County district attorney\u2019s office. A father of two, he served as a deputy district attorney for 22 years, prosecuting political corruption, police misconduct and fraud cases before leaving the courtroom for the helm of the new office of inspector general.<\/p>\n One of the main reasons the Sheriff\u2019s Department is still plagued by many of the problems Huntsman confronted when he first became inspector general, he wrote in the Tuesday letter, has been the county\u2019s reluctance to swiftly implement many of his office\u2019s recommendations.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my twelve years at this work, I have longed for the day that the county would address the conditions in our reports without a court fight,\u201d he wrote. \u201cSome things never change.\u201d<\/p>\n The office is now expected to undergo a sea change with the retirement of the only leader it has ever had.<\/p>\n Huntsman\u2019s fellow watchdogs praised the outgoing inspector general for his commitment to the public good.<\/p>\n \u201cAll Angelenos who care about honest public safety can join me saying sincere thanks to Max Huntsman,\u201d Civilian Oversight Commission Chair Hans Johnson said in a message to The Times. <\/p>\n Johnson added that Huntsman \u201cexposed abuse by Sheriff personnel on other badge-wearers, deputy gangs operating on the public payroll to corrupt the chain of command, and retaliation against public servants, volunteers, reporters and family members of victims working to find the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n Huntsman is the latest in a recent string of oversight officials to abruptly depart from their posts. In June<\/a>, L.A. County Civilian Oversight Commission Chair Robert Bonner told the public that county officials were terminating him from the position. <\/p>\n \u201cNo one worked harder to try to make oversight of the Sheriff\u2019s Department a reality,\u201d Bonner said of Huntsman in a statement Tuesday. \u201cHe laid the foundation. But his voice for reform, so badly needed, will be sorely missed.\u201d<\/p>\n This year, Sean Kennedy, another member of the Civilian Oversight Commission and its former chair, resigned<\/a> over what he described as undue county interference in the commission\u2019s activities.<\/p>\n The Sheriff\u2019s Department said in a statement to The Times that it \u201cvalues the Office of Inspector General and all our oversight bodies and continues to make great strides in advancing the Department in a transparent manner. We wish Mr. Huntsman and his family well in his retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n