LOS ANGELES – Former Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna was sworn in Saturday as Los Angeles County’s next sheriff.
“Today I stand before you wearing this brand-new uniform — and now I have a badge to go with it — with an incredible amount of respect, because it’s the same uniform worn by those deputies who patrolled the neighborhood where I grew up,” Luna said, adding that when he played cops and robbers with other children, he always wanted to play the cop.
Saturday’s ceremony at the county Hall of Administration in downtown Los Angeles was attended by Luna’s family, current and former city and police officials from Long Beach and LA County officials including four of the five county supervisors, with only Holly Mitchell absent.
Luna promised to be open to different approaches to tackle what he acknowledged was a rising tide of crime in the county.
“There can be no sacred cows,” Luna said. He said the sheriff’s department has succeeded over the years “because it has never been afraid to innovate. … So we must look at policies sand strategies that have succeeded in other places and not be afraid to bring them here.”
Luna implored the public to defend “good policing,” while at the same time recognizing the need to hold law enforcement accountable.
“But even as we make mistakes, we can and we must keep the public trust,” he said.
The new sheriff said he will focus on three overriding principles:
— Integrity. “It’s about living up to the law enforcement code of ethics, doing the right thing even when no one is looking.”
— Accountability. “If crime goes, up, that’s on us. … We owe you the community a plan to reduce crime.”
And, in a veiled shot at Villanueva — who was frequently assailed by Luna and other elected officials over his contentious relationship with the county Board of Supervisors:
— Collaboration. “We will fail if we take an `us versus them’ attitude,” Luna said. “We cannot do that. We need less polarization and more partnerships, and we will do that.
“We are going to fix problems, not affix blame.”
Luna also mentioned the need to eliminate deputy gangs and improve conditions in jails.
Luna’s first official day on the job will be Monday. The East Los Angeles native spent 36 years with the Long Beach Police Department, becoming chief in 2014.
Luna this week announced the appointment of April Tardy, chief of the sheriff’s department’s Central Patrol Division, as his interim undersheriff, making her the first woman to hold that position in the agency’s history. He also named Jason Skeen, currently the commander of Personnel Command, as his interim chief of staff.
Tardy and Skeen are both 28-year department veterans.
Besides Mitchell, District Attorney George Gascón, and Los Angeles Mayor-Elect Karen Bass we’re not in attendance either.
2UrbanGirls contributed to this report.
