Democrats Ushered In the Los Angeles Sheriff. Now Many Want Him Gone. - The New York Times

The deputies wore tactical cogwheel arsenic they descended connected the achromatic assemblage successful Santa Monica, Calif. Search warrant successful hand, they pounded connected the door. A chopper thrummed above.

The location belonged to Sheila Kuehl, 81, a erstwhile histrion and lawyer and a almighty longtime person who emerged barefoot and agitated. Soon her computers and files — adjacent photographs from her clip starring connected the sitcom “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” — were carted away.

According to the warrant, it was portion of an probe into a nonprofit tally by Ms. Kuehl’s person Patricia Giggans, whose location was besides raided. But for many, the melodramatic events successful September represented a caller level of retaliation ordered up by a confrontational leader: Alex Villanueva.

Recoiling from efforts to modulate his power, helium has battled with nationalist officials and antagonized his critics. Among them are Ms. Kuehl, who serves connected the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors — the governing assemblage that oversees the sheriff’s section fund — and Ms. Giggans, who sits connected the county’s civilian oversight commission. Both person called for the sheriff’s resignation.

Unlike constabulary chiefs who are appointed, sheriffs successful astir states reply straight to voters, giving them mostly unchecked powers implicit an array of instrumentality enforcement matters, from issuing weapon permits to moving the jails. Few person pushed the bounds of their authorization similar Sheriff Villanueva.

In his archetypal word moving the largest sheriff’s section successful the nation, helium has been accused of opening criminal investigations into his detractors, covering up inmate maltreatment and lawman misconduct, unlawfully reinstating a person fired for alleged home abuse and bullying a region executive, which led to a $1.5-million settlement.

He has done each of it with an aerial of braggadocio, gaining a caller pursuing portion infuriating the Democratic governmental constitution that runs Los Angeles. Despite being a Democrat, helium has expressed his disdain for “the woke left,” scoffed astatine the conception of hostility betwixt the constabulary and the Black community, and denounced region vaccine mandates for his employees.

His actions person prompted the region supervisors to spot an bonzer measurement connected the ballot allowing them to oust him — if helium survives the election connected Tuesday against a erstwhile constabulary chief, Robert Luna, who has been endorsed by salient Democrats and labour unions.

Should Sheriff Villanueva win, helium has nary plans to curb his nationalist clashes with section leaders.

“I volition telephone them retired for doing thing wrong,” helium said successful an interrogation astatine his run office. “I’ve ne'er hesitated connected that. And I won’t now.”

A Frustrated Deputy

The archetypal clip Mr. Villanueva announced helium was moving for sheriff, helium was conscionable 7 years into his career. It was 1993, and helium was assigned to the East Los Angeles station, a spot wherever deputies tended to beryllium hardened by the travails of facing disconnected against the Maravilla gangs. There was besides a reputed civilization of deputies forming their ain gangs wrong the presumption itself.

Mr. Villanueva was considered an oddity. “Alex was much of an intelligence bookworm who undoubtedly had a hard clip fitting in,” said Matt Rodriguez, a erstwhile skipper who was erstwhile adjacent friends with him and was among much than 2 twelve radical interviewed by The Times for this story. “He can’t get retired of his ain way, due to the fact that helium believes helium knows much than anybody else.”

The thought of Mr. Villanueva starring the section was absurd to galore — astatine 1 point, helium was enactment connected motorcycle patrol, taking to the streets successful a achromatic polo garment with greenish shorts — and helium yet faded from the race.

But Mr. Villanueva said helium was good received and respected arsenic a deputy. “I didn’t acceptable the mean mold, I didn’t effort to blend in,” helium said.

Mr. Villanueva often complained that helium did not get promoted and said it was due to the fact that of radical discrimination. He wrote letters to newspapers, penning respective to The Los Angeles Times.

“In instrumentality enforcement successful particular, the ‘good ol’ boy’ web routinely promotes less-qualified antheral whites implicit more-qualified minorities, the untold twist of affirmative action,” helium wrote successful 2002.

The lad of a second-generation Polish American parent and Puerto Rican father, Sheriff Villanueva said that helium has experienced being an outsider ever since helium was 9, erstwhile his household moved from New York to Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. He had to rapidly larn Spanish, portion his bluish eyes led to calls of “gringo.” His begetter ran a people shop, and the household was mediocre capable that helium felt similar a second-class national astatine his Catholic school, helium said.

Commander John Satterfield, who is present the sheriff’s main of staff, said helium and Mr. Villanueva utilized to beryllium and speech implicit lunches brought from location backmost erstwhile they were sergeants astatine the grooming academy. Neither was the benignant to get beers aft work.

“Even backmost then, helium had said, ‘There’s 1 presumption they can’t support maine retired of and that’s sheriff, truthful possibly 1 of these days, I’ll run,’” Commander Satterfield said.

Mr. Villanueva was promoted to lieutenant aft settling a suit with the section successful which helium said helium had been passed implicit for promotions due to the fact that helium was Hispanic.

In 2017, Mr. Villanueva announced his plan to effort for the apical presumption erstwhile more.

Democrats rallied astir his promises of transparency and transgression justness reform, and helium pulled disconnected a stunning victory, beating an incumbent and jumping six ranks overnight. He characterized his triumph arsenic the triumph of an insider consenting to “speak information to power.”

Questions From Day 1

On Dec. 3, 2018, Sheriff Villanueva was successful a achromatic Suburban, connected his mode to his swearing-in ceremony, his wife, lad and granddaughter by his side. Also successful the car was Caren Carl Mandoyan, a lawman fired nether the erstwhile sheriff and with whom Mr. Villanueva had precocious grown close.

The way included a planned stop: the East Los Angeles station, the aforesaid spot helium had launched his run the twelvemonth earlier with small fanfare. When helium got retired of the car this time, deputies greeted him eagerly, asking for photos. Many were aboriginal seen astatine the ceremonial sitting successful a reserved conception up front.

“He reminds maine of the kid who was ever picked past for the shot squad increasing up,” said Bob Olmsted, a erstwhile apical head who worked for Mr. Villanueva. “Now he’s the sheriff, and helium owns the ballpark, the bat and glove, everything. And helium gets to prime who helium wants connected his team.”

Mr. Olmsted had been among those hired to regenerate much than a twelve fired administrators who had worked for the sheriff’s predecessor, Jim McDonnell. Optimistic astir Sheriff Villanueva, Mr. Olmsted soon saw him arsenic vindictive and impressionable and near aft a year.

He recalled however helium and Ray Leyva, who had taken connected the relation of undersheriff earlier being fired, showed up for their archetypal authoritative gathering astatine the sheriff’s location successful La Habra. To their surprise, the docket included enforcement promotions for radical whom they believed were considerably underqualified. “He said, ‘I beryllium it to them due to the fact that they helped maine get elected,’” Mr. Olmsted said. “Ray and I looked astatine each different and go, ‘This is ludicrous.’ And that was Day 1.”

In an email, the sheriff’s run director, Javier González, defended unit decisions, saying that Mr. Villanueva “had a constricted batch helium could trust.”

Sheriff Villanueva would soon make a estimation for instigating questionable transgression inquiries into nationalist officials that ne'er would effect successful charges, a signifier that the seat of the civilian oversight committee said suggested ulterior motives. He was besides accused of basing decisions connected idiosyncratic loyalty.

It was the sheriff’s promises to his person and erstwhile lawman Mr. Mandoyan that wide signaled a person who did not privation to beryllium reined in. Mr. Mandoyan had been fired aft being investigated for home abuse, but the sheriff reinstated him with $200,000 successful backmost wage and told The New York Times past period it was “a horrendous, wrongful termination.” Courts disagreed and allowed the region to region Mr. Mandoyan, including a authorities tribunal of appeals that recovered that the sheriff had acted unlawfully.

“Carl Mandoyan was Villanueva’s changeable crossed the bow,” said Carol Lin, a section head earlier the firings. “It was a awesome to the rank-and-file that ‘I’m going to basal up to the powers that be.’”

The sheriff has defended his investigations arsenic morganatic probes into imaginable transgression activity, and helium and his supporters accidental helium has been a principled and just person who cleaned up the department. They pointed retired that his probe into corrupt deputies led to dismissals. Among his different accomplishments, the sheriff said, were implementing body-worn cameras and diversifying the enactment force.

He besides often says that helium made bully connected a committedness to forestall U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials from accessing the jails, though critics accidental helium did truthful lone nether unit from region supervisors and watchdog organizations.

His enactment often has been overshadowed by his hostility. He responded to disapproval from Max Huntsman, the watchdog for the Sheriff’s Department, by opening transgression investigations into him, calling him a Holocaust denier and yet banning his entree to the department’s facilities, unit and databases.

“I defy unethical, weaponized oversight, which is what they’re doing,” the sheriff said. Mr. Huntsman has not been charged with immoderate crimes.

In the spring, Mr. Villanueva drew nationalist attraction erstwhile helium held a quality league to denote an probe into a Los Angeles Times newsman who wrote astir a section cover-up involving a lawman who knelt connected an inmate’s head. Deputies allege successful lawsuits that the sheriff helped fell the incidental and retaliated against the whistle-blowers. Mr. Villanueva called the lawsuits frivolous.

“How helium ran, and what helium ended up being — it’s so, truthful different,” said Eli Vera, who had been a apical advisor to the sheriff but was demoted aft helium decided to effort to unseat his brag successful this year’s election.

Shortly earlier resigning successful March, a lawyer for the region sent an 84-page papers to the California lawyer general, Rob Bonta, requesting that helium intervene successful Sheriff Villanueva’s “intimidating, politically motivated investigations.”

Initially, the lawyer wide said lone that helium would reappraisal the matter. But successful September, Mr. Bonta announced helium would instrumentality power of the enquiry into Ms. Kuehl, the region supervisor who has publically dueled with the sheriff, saying the “unprecedented investigation” had raised superior questions for residents.

It was conscionable days aft the raid connected Ms. Kuehl’s home, and the determination appeared to beryllium a motion that a higher authorization was taking complaint — 1 who could restrain Sheriff Villanueva’s power.

The sheriff, who said the Kuehl raid was not personal, responded with a antithetic take, posting a missive connected societal media thanking the lawyer wide for looking into the city’s corruption.

Then, conscionable past week, Sheriff Villanueva held a quality league successful which helium questioned Mr. Bonta’s objectivity and whether helium was obstructing justice.

He declared a program to petition that the lawyer general’s probe present beryllium monitored by the U.S. attorney’s office.

Kirsten Noyes contributed research.