Skip to content
Digital News Alerts

Digital News Alerts

Finger on the pulse

  • Home
  • Games & Gadgets
  • Social Media Sauce
  • Biz & Tech Topics
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Latest
  • Long Beach Chief Of Police, Robert Luna, Announces Candidacy In Election Race For Sheriff Of Los Angeles County

Long Beach Chief Of Police, Robert Luna, Announces Candidacy In Election Race For Sheriff Of Los Angeles County

Sarah Jacobson 5 min read

Former Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna has announced his candidacy for Los Angeles County sheriff. He is the third candidate to announce their bid, following in the footsteps of incumbent Sheriff Jim McDonnell and former LAPD Deputy Chief Stephen Seife.

The “sheriff vs police” is a debate that has been hotly contested for many years. The Long Beach Chief of Police, Robert Luna, announced his candidacy in the race for sheriff of Los Angeles County.

(CBSLA) – LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Long Beach Chief of Police Robert Luna has declared his campaign for Los Angeles County Sheriff, making the contest even more fascinating.

Robert Luna is seen on the far left. (Photo courtesy of Getty Images/Tibrina Hobson) )

READ MORE: Clarence Avant’s Wife, Jacqueline Avant, Was Shot To Death In A Beverly Hills Home Invasion

Luna has been the Chief of Police for the Long Beach Police Department since 2014. He has been in law enforcement for over 37 years. Long Beach is Los Angeles County’s second-largest city, which comes with a lot of responsibilities. Luna is slated to leave her job later this month.

Luna assures that his law enforcement career isn’t ended just yet, even if he is retiring in this position.

“I still have a lot of energy, and I like what I do….” What better opportunity to put my skills to work for the whole Los Angeles County?”

Luna is by far the most competent and well-known of the field of more than a half-dozen candidates vying against the incumbent, current Sheriff Alex Villanueva.

According to the Long Beach Post, Luna’s department has experienced a decline in both unnecessary use-of-force instances and police shootings throughout his tenure.

Luna has extensive expertise in “the areas of catastrophe and emergency preparation, terrorism, and critical event management,” according to his profile on the Long Beach Police Department website.

He is also an FBI National Executive Institute and FBI National Academy graduate.

Luna has stated that his campaign is focused on building relationships with the community and interacting with people on a more personal level, claiming that his childhood and growing up in poverty in an unincorporated area of Los Angeles as the son of an immigrant Latino family taught him the importance of a public-police relationship.

Luna didn’t hold back when questioned about his main opponent:

“Unfortunately, I feel this sheriff is in charge of a dysfunctional agency….” If you look at the way he communicates – or, maybe more accurately, the lack of communication, the absence of connections – he is having a terrible influence on public safety in this county, and I might almost say beyond.”

The tenure of Villanueva in this post has been marred by controversy. He has clashed with the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors on numerous occasions since becoming the 33rd Sheriff in the county’s history, frequently refusing requests to cooperate on a variety of levels, including investigations and, most recently, refusing to enforce a vaccine mandate on his staff, including many of his deputies.

However, data show that the Long Beach Police Department, led by Luna, has a somewhat higher vaccination rate than the Sheriff’s Department — 57 percent vs 52 percent, respectively.

READ MORE: A High School Basketball Brawl Involved Students And Parents Has Been Investigated

Many of his deputies have been accused of being involved in “law enforcement gangs,” leading the passage of California Assembly Bill 958, which mandates that all law enforcement organizations establish a policy barring membership in law enforcement gangs. Despite his termination of over 30 deputies for their participation in an off-duty altercation on his first day in office, these charges have surfaced.

According to Attorney General Rob Bonta’s website, a civil rights inquiry of the agency was begun in early 2021 for a number of grounds involving a “pattern or practice of unlawful policing.”

Villanueva has also been accused of engaging in “political stunts,” such as sending his officers to Venice Beach to deal with the homeless issue, which many think is beyond the Sheriff’s Department’s authority.

In addition, he has been embroiled in a legal battle with the widowed wife of late-NBA star Kobe Bryant, which has lasted nearly two years, over the handling of the scene of his fatal accident and how his deputies allegedly released photos to the public despite a promise of confidentiality to the widow.

In response, Villanueva established a department policy prohibiting such behavior, such as photographing accident sites.

In an Instagram Live Story, Villanueva replied to rumours of Luna’s candidacy by saying:

“Actually, I see it as confirmation that the political establishment wants a puppet sheriff and has advertised for as many candidates as possible….” Anyone may run in our nation, and I’m looking forward to the arguments.”

1638442210_884_Long-Beach-Chief-Of-Police-Robert-Luna-Announces-Candidacy-In

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – 25 MARCH 2021: During a news conference outside the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, right, is photographed with members of local Asian community groups in a show of solidarity and support for the local Asian American and Pacific Islander community. In Los Angeles County, Villanueva has advocated for a zero-tolerance policy for hate crimes and occurrences. (Getty Images/Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Villanueva, who is originally from Chicago, Illinois, has been a member of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department since 1986. His first bid for Sheriff was in 2014, however he was defeated by Jim McDonnell, the Chief of Police of Long Beach at the time.

In 2018, he ran again, this time defeating McDonnell and becoming the first person to accomplish it in the 104-year history of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. In 138 years, he was also the first democratic candidate to win the seat.

Villanueva has deployed body cameras for deputies, stopped the transfer of unauthorized immigrants to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and, most recently, secured a $22 million budget surplus in 2021.

Los Angeles Airport Chief of Police Cecil Rhambo, current Sheriff’s deputy Eli Vera – who was demoted from chief to commander almost immediately after declaring his candidacy – and another deputy in lieutenant Eric Strong, among others, are also in the race.

Ekatarina Zharkova, a Costa Mesa woman, was arrested for allegedly stealing over $300,000 in retail items.

The elections aren’t expected to happen until June 2022.

Watch This Video-

Sarah Jacobson

See author's posts

Continue Reading

Previous: How To Retrieve Blocked Text Messages On Samsung
Next: Stephen Curry Is About to Become the All-Time Leader in 3-Point Makes, and Even the Current Record-Holder Admits Steph ‘Operates Somewhat in a Lane of His Own’

Related Stories

How will Alcide help Rapid7 improve its cloud security offering? cybersecurity kubernetes alcide 12m crunchbasemillertechcrunch
7 min read

How will Alcide help Rapid7 improve its cloud security offering?

Dragoneer Investment Group is a leading growth-oriented investment firm spoton smbs series dragoneer azevedotechcrunch
8 min read

Dragoneer Investment Group is a leading growth-oriented investment firm

What investors are saying about SpotOn’s $300m Series F spoton smbs 125m series azevedotechcrunch
8 min read

What investors are saying about SpotOn’s $300m Series F

Trending News

How to Integrate Your IT Department With Other Departments 1

How to Integrate Your IT Department With Other Departments

Sam Altman’s Thoughts on Technology 50m series altman lachy groomloizostechcrunch 2

Sam Altman’s Thoughts on Technology

OpenAI plans to invest in a wide range of AI technologies altman 100m microsoft aicoldeweytechcrunch 3

OpenAI plans to invest in a wide range of AI technologies

Apple’s incredible growth apple 1.8b 1.65b january 1.5b januaryclovermacrumors 4

Apple’s incredible growth

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • About us
© 2022 Digital News Alerts
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT