Sheriff candidates are on the “chitlin circuit” seeking endorsements from various political parties to coerce voters into believing they are the best candidate to reform the department. Many of the candidates have challenging backgrounds regarding their involvement in shootings, one of which resulted in the death of a minor.
On Thursday Cecil Rhambo got 43% of the ❤️ of LA dem Club, they went to a 2nd ballot where he went down to 41% and @Vera4Sheriff got 50% of the clubs vote. Thank you @cerisecastle & ur amazing story on Rhambo. This is the 2nd very progressive dem club 2 vote 4 Eli Vera.
— Michael Trujillo (@mikehtrujillo) January 8, 2022
Commander Eli Vera is a veteran member of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department, and was a member of the team that got Alex Villanueva elected Sheriff.
Last year he announced his candidacy, and it must have flew under the radar that he was in a deputy involved shooting that resulted in the death of 16 year old Julio Castillo in 1999.
The family claimed Julio was surrendering when Vera shot him.
If we are scrutinizing Cecil Rhambo’s shootings where he says “nobody died”, then shouldn’t Vera get scrutiny for killing a minor?
To date, there have been no public claims that Vera was an alleged member of any alleged deputy cliques within the department.
Where exactly do we draw the line on what is acceptable for one candidate over the other?
**Update 1/8**
The Heart LA Dems clarified they went “no consensus” in the Sheriff’s race and won’t be endorsing a candidate.
Chief Eli Vera was one of two deputies who shot and killed 16-year-old Julio Castillo in 1999. The family sued, alleging Castillo was surrendering when Vera shot him.
— Kate Cagle (@KateCagle) May 10, 2021
It went to trial. The family lost.
Background: https://t.co/qLiX7Ql8rH
More: https://t.co/iYA9KQzkI9 pic.twitter.com/XKWaQvX34M