PPOA members may recall that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a subpoena directly to Sheriff Luna in December 2023 seeking the production of records of all Department members, including many PPOA members, who exercised their constitutional right to refuse to talk to ICIB investigators from the Sheriff’s Department.
On January 23, 2024, PPOA filed a Petition for a Writ of Mandate and a Complaint for Declaratory Relief together with an Application for a Temporary Restraining Order to Show Cause regarding a Preliminary Injunction to stop the production of documents. It was PPOA’s belief that the records being sought by the OIG’s office violated the constitutional and bargaining rights of PPOA members without the legally mandated meet and confer between all involved parties. PPOA aggressively argued that certain protections need to be put in place to avoid significant damage to the privacy rights of its members.
On March 13, 2024, after all pleadings were filed by the parties, PPOA’s counsel, James Cunningham, appeared at the Superior Court of Los Angeles County and engaged in oral argument to support PPOA’s position that a Preliminary Injunction be issued against the OIG to stop the production of the PPOA member files and information. The OIG and their lawyers from the international law firm of Sheppard Mullin also appeared to present their case and arguments.
On March 18, 2024, the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff ruled that PPOA’s request for a Preliminary Injunction be granted and that the OIG, the County, and the Sheriff’s Department are enjoined from releasing any PPOA members’ files to the OIG’s office without engaging in the requisite meet and confer with PPOA. Further, Judge Beckloff reduced the OIG’s request for a $64 million bond to be assessed against PPOA pending appeal to a $1,000 bond which will be filed pending appeal.
“PPOA is relentless in the protection of its members’ rights and privacy,” stated President Steve Johnson. “We have been successful in opposing the immediate release of our members’ pictures and identity to the public and with this victory, the message should be loud and clear PPOA will never stand for any abuses of members’ rights and protections afforded by the law.”