Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva revealed Tuesday that his department is conducting a criminal leak investigation into a report about a cover-up of an incident in which a deputy knelt on the head of handcuffed inmate for three minutes.
The announcement was from reporter Alene Tchekmedyian’s newspaper, the Los Angeles Times, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, and it comes one day after reporting on a legal claim by a sheriff’s commander against Villanueva, accusing him of concealing the incident in March 2021.
“This is stolen property that was removed illegally from people who had some intent — criminal intent — and it’ll be subject to investigation,” Villanueva said during the press conference referring to a leaked video obtained by the reporter.
Villanueva also revealed that Eli Vera, a commander with Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and Max Huntsman, an inspector general with the sheriff’s department, were under investigation. Vera, who decided to retire, is running to unseat Villanueva in the election this year.
In a stunning moment, Los Angeles Co Sheriff Alex Villanueva revealed LASD is investigating his political opponent @Vera4Sheriff, the Inspector General and LA Times reporter @AleneTchek, after leaked video exposed a deputy kneeling on a handcuffed inmate’s head. @SpecNews1SoCal pic.twitter.com/D7sTgBeEvc
— Kate Cagle (@KateCagle) April 26, 2022
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Tchekmedyian reported last month the Los Angeles Police Department tried to cover up the year-old incident, during which the deputy was punched in the face, in an attempt to shield the department from a “negative light.” The reporting was undergirded by video and internal records. Villanueva has denied being involved in any cover-up and said the deputy, Douglas Johnson, has been relieved of duty while investigations play out.
“Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s attack on Alene Tchekmedyian’s First Amendment rights for doing newsworthy reporting on a video that showed a deputy kneeling on a handcuffed inmate’s head is outrageous,” the LA Times’s executive editor, Kevin Merida, said in a statement Tuesday.
The ACLU of SoCal called on Villanueva to investigate his deputies “instead of making a reporter the target.”
Sheriff Villanueva: Instead of making a reporter the target, investigate your deputies kneeling on people’s heads. https://t.co/yt3TkanOQL
— ACLU SoCal (@ACLU_SoCal) April 26, 2022
The sheriff later clarified that the investigation does not seek charges against any reporters.
(2/3) We will conduct a thorough investigation regarding the unlawful disclosure of evidence and documentation in an active criminal case. The multiple active investigations stemming from this incident will be shared and monitored by an outside law enforcement entity.
— Alex Villanueva (@LACoSheriff) April 27, 2022
“What should be of interest is the fact the LA Times refuses to acknowledge their reporting, and the account of a disgruntled employee, were thoroughly debunked during today’s press conference,” he added.
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Villanueva has been a vocal opponent of COVID-19 mandates and policies, having refused to enforce an indoor mask mandate in July, which he said was “not backed by science.”
