PPOA President
Lieutenant, LASD
sjohnson@ppoa.com
On March 3, 2020, Los Angeles County residents voted into law Measure R, a ballot initiative that substantially strengthens the oversight of the Sheriff’s Department via the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and the Civilian Oversight Commission. The measure significantly impacts the process by which discipline is delivered to personnel; it grants both oversight entities subpoena powers and the ability to conduct investigations within inmate and civilian populations.
Fortunately, the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA) governs employee matters between the County and PPOA. The MMBA provides that recognized employee organizations such as PPOA “shall have the right to represent its members in their employment relations with public agencies” (Gov. Code, § 3503). In other words, the County is under a legal obligation to “meet and confer” with our union when new policies and laws are implemented that alter or impact the working conditions of our members.
Without meeting and conferring, the OIG attempted to subpoena PPOA members to testify as to alleged law enforcement gangs within the Department and reveal any/all tattoos related to their inquiry. PPOA challenged the County’s and the OIG’s authority to proceed and successfully obtained a ruling that stopped the interviews until conclusion of the meet-and-confer process.
Without due regard for the MMBA or the court’s ruling on Measure R, the OIG served a subpoena on Sheriff Robert Luna on January 2, 2024. The subpoena sought to obtain confidential and protected information from PPOA members and other personnel within the Sheriff’s Department. The OIG sought the identities of personnel who, in the face of allegations of criminal conduct, chose not to give a voluntary statement to an ICIB investigator. PPOA subsequently filed an unfair labor practice claim and a lawsuit against the County because of the OIG’s transgression.
On February 8, 2024, PPOA appeared in front of a judge from the Los Angeles County Superior Court and requested a temporary restraining order to prevent the OIG from obtaining confidential records regarding our members, including information within the purview of active, ongoing investigations. PPOA was successful in obtaining the order, but the fight continues.
The chilling effect of the improprieties of those selected to provide oversight does not end here. On April 24, 2024, felony charges were filed by the California Department of Justice against Diana Teran, the current assistant district attorney at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. To add injury to insult, Ms. Teran served in a highly ranked position as head of Ethics and Integrity Operations within the District Attorney’s Office. She formerly worked for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and OIG.
It is alleged she knowingly downloaded confidential, sensitive employee information while assigned to the Sheriff’s Department and then later illegally used that information in other capacities outside of her former role within our Department. Charged with 11 felony violations of Penal Code section 502, subdivision (c)(2), Ms. Teran is alleged to have displayed a clear criminal pattern of repeatedly using confidential data that is protected under the California Peace Officer Bill of Rights. Ms. Teran is owed her due process under the law; nevertheless, the information appears to indicate corruption and arrogance at the highest level.
It is brutally disheartening to discover that oversight officials, put in immense positions of trust and responsibility, have abused their authority. Are we witnessing in real time the severe erosion of the public’s trust in public officials that may imply a wider systemic breakdown, even beyond the political realm? It is alarming when we come to observe that certain public officials, dead set on pointing the finger toward corruption and abuse of power, need only look in the mirror.
To date, no PPOA member has been forced to appear in front of the OIG or produce records while this and other litigation advances through the courts and at the Employee Relations Commission.
We will continue to fight for your rights and protect the working conditions of our noble profession. PPOA will continue to provide updates on the progress of this litigation. Stay well, be safe and we will see you very soon.