PPOA Week in Review: October 10, 2020

Memorial Anniversary Tribute to Fallen Sergeant Steve Owen

October 5: Monday marked a solemn anniversary for the family and friends of fallen LASD Sergeant Steve Owen. The 29-year department veteran was killed in the line of duty four years ago on October 5, 2016. His death was a staggering loss for the Owen family, the Sheriff’s Department and the communities he served, both on and off duty. Immediately following Sergeant Owen’s funeral service in 2016, PPOA interviewed a few of his friends and partners to learn more about his impact and legacy. Their sentiments are included in the tribute video below.

Click here to watch the tribute video.

PDC-South Staffing Curtailments

October 6: During a "Department Conversation with Sheriff Villanueva,” on Tuesday, a comment was made regarding the reduction of staff at PDC-South due to the $105M budget shortage recognized during the Fiscal Year 20-21 Supplemental Budget passed by the Board of Supervisors on September 29. While the Department has made reference to this potential curtailment, as well as other units potentially affected including Parks Bureau, Sheriff Villanueva’s comment to Department members that morning was the first official confirmation of his plans to reduce staffing at any unit.

PPOA, having been made aware of various possibilities, immediately scheduled a meeting with the Department the following morning to discuss the impacts of staffing curtailments of PDC-South as well as any other verifiable decisions made by Department executives. We also sent email to all PPOA members in the Sheriff's Department to notify them of the developments. Click here to read that email.

Conference with LASD re: PDC-South Staffing Curtailments

October 7: On Wednesday, PPOA President Tab Rhodes Vice President Jim Blankenship, Executive Board Member Tony Coleman and Executive Director Wayne Quint Jr. participated in a conference call with LASD executives and fiscal personnel to discuss the possible curtailments at PDC-South. During the meeting, PPOA was able to confirm the Department’s intention to curtail personnel at PDC-South down from 271 to a staffing level of 74. While the breakdown of staffing classifications affected has yet to be finalized, the current information includes a reassignment of 7 lieutenant items, 17 sergeant items, and 51 Custody Assistant items. One thing PPOA and the Department are in agreement on, is that all reassigned personnel shall be based on reverse unit seniority. PPOA is waiting for the Department to provide a final unit seniority roster for review.

At this time, the Department has yet to make any further decisions other than the reduction of staff at PDC-South. Following the conference call, we sent email to all PPOA members in the Sheriff's Department to update them on the developments.

For more details, click here to read that email.

California Contract Cities Association meeting

October 7: PPOA was invited to participate in the Public Safety Working Group created by the California Contract Cities Assocation. President Rhodes, along with President Hernandez of ALADS discussed current issues related to public safety with approximately 15 mayors/city leaders throughout California. Meetings with civic leaders during these historically difficult times, provide PPOA the opportunity to have collaborative conversations, reinforcing reason over emotion and moderation over extremes. This meeting was the first of a series of recurring meetings to exchange perspectives and address concerns in the future.

Meetings with Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez

October 7-8: PPOA accepted an invitation from Santa Ana Police Officers Association to meet with California Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez on Wednesday. At that "meet and greet," President Rhodes and Executive Director Quint were joined by Orange County D.A. Todd Spitzer and representatives from Anaheim POA, Long Beach POA and the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs for a productive discussion with Assemblymember Rodriguez about issues impacting public safety. The former first responder and Pomona City Council member was elected to the Assembly in 2013 and represents the 52nd district, which encompasses portions of Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. He currently serves as the Chair of the Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement and has been a reliable advocate for law enforcement personnel.

On the following day (October 8th), PPOA’s legislative representatives in Sacramento – Lang, Hansen, Giroux & Associates — hosted a Zoom meeting with Assemblymember (AM) Rodriguez. During this meeting, President Rhodes thanked AM Rodriguez for his continued support for public safety and his recent assistance with Senate Bill 731. AM Rodriguez is seeking re-election in his district with includes the city of Pomona and has earned the endorsement of PPOA and many other police unions.

COVID-19 Conference with PPOA Legal Team

October 8: On Thursday, PPOA hosted its weekly legal meeting in order for President Tab Rhodes, Executive Director Wayne Quint Jr., Senior Labor Rep. Venise Wallace, Labor Rep. Teresa O'Neil, Intake Representative Kevin Thompson and PPOA attorneys to address and analyze COVID-19 issues impacting PPOA members.

LASD Sergeant/Lieutenant Promotional Grievance Update

October 8: PPOA Attorney Jim Cunningham hosted a teleconference on Thursday to update 98 recently-promoted Sergeants and 29 recently-promoted Lieutenants regarding ongoing administrative and legal efforts to ensure they receive proper compensation and back pay. Click here for more details.

Conference with Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner

October 8: A teleconference was hosted on Thursday for PPOA Executive Director Quint, Labor Representative O'Neil, Intake Representative Thompson and executives from the Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Discussions centered on personnel issues.

Conference with Fraud and Cyber Crimes Bureau Executives

October 8: The Meet and Confer process with the Department regarding recent reassignments of Crime Analysts continued. A teleconference was conducted including President Rhodes, Vice-President Blankenship, Executive Director Quint, and PPOA Field Representatives with the command staff of FCCB and Major Crimes Bureau as well as Employee Relations. Differences of perspective still remain, but all parties are working toward a common goal: the fair treatment of our PPOA members and to avoid similar difficulties in the future.

Fraternal Order of Police

October 9: Click here to read the latest weekly news update from the California Fraternal Order of Police (CAFOP).

PPOA is a proud member of California FOP Lodge 1, which represents public safety organizations throughout Los Angeles County. The statewide CAFOP is comprised of 30 lodges with 17,000 members.

NO on Measure J:

Protect Essential Workers

Protect essential workers! Don’t let L.A. County supervisors permanently cut $500,000,000 from essential services provided by PPOA members, nurses, social workers and other public servants. Measure J is a step backward for racial justice, as it will decrease services and resources in communities where additional investments are critically needed. Vote no on Measure J!

Visit NoMeasureJ.com for more information.

Click here to see the No-on-Measure-J television advertisement sponsored in part by PPOA.

Re-elect Jackie Lacey for LA County District Attorney

District Attorney Jackie Lacey has spent most of her professional life as a prosecutor, manager and executive in the LA County District Attorney’s Office. For the last eight years, she has provided stellar leadership for the largest local prosecutorial office in the nation, with a workforce of approximately 1,000 lawyers, 300 investigators and 800 support staff employees.

Dedicated public safety advocate
First woman and first African-American to serve as LA County District Attorney
Los Angeles native with proven leadership experience

Please encourage all LA County voters to re-elect Jackie Lacey for LA County District Attorney!

Visit J ackieLacey.com for more information.

YES on Prop 20:

Protect Victims of Violent Crime

Vote YES on Prop 20 to fix glaring flaws contained in recent criminal justice reforms. Under Prop 47, rape of an unconscious person, trafficking a child for sex, assault on a peace officer and felony domestic violence are not classified as “violent felonies” — making criminals convicted of these crimes eligible for early release. Vote YES on Prop 20 to fix these injustices!

Visit KeepCalSafe.org for more info.

PPOA Endorsements for November 2020 Election

Attention PPOA members: please be advised that all California voters will receive a vote-by-mail ballot for the November 3, 2020, General Election. County

elections officials will begin mailing vote-by-mail ballots to all active registered voters by October 5, 2020. Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by November 3, 2020; ballots returned at a secure ballot drop box must be deposited by 8:00 p.m. on November 3, 2020.

Members are encouraged to use the PPOA endorsement guide below when voting in the upcoming election:

Los Angeles County