LOS ANGELES—After defying subpoenas to testify under oath about allegations regarding deputy gangs, former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva finally appeared Jan. 12 before a civilian policing hearing and acknowledged the existence of “subgroups” within the sheriff’s department.
Refusing to label the groups “gangs,” Villanueva told the panel that sheriff’s subgroups “have always existed in one shape or another across time” within the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) and likened them to “softball teams.”
