The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is considering whether they can ease the firing procedures for sheriff's deputies.
The call for a change comes after promises from Sheriff Jim McDonnell to keep his department in order. Nicole Nishida, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told KPCC that McDonnell has taken the steps to fire more deputies than any other sheriffs in office.
Under McDonnell, yearly terminations have been up 76 percent compared to the average from the last 14 years, according to Richard Shinee, an attorney KPCC spoke to whose firm represents all of the deputies who are fired. The figure could not be confirmed by the sheriff’s department.
Deputies have the opportunity to appeal to the county's civil service commission when they get fired, so their termination doesn't always hold up. More often than not, the deputy’s attorney will argue that any act of dishonesty should be considered inconsequential or a first offense.
But according to Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas that's a problem. He wants the commission to uphold McDonnell's termination decisions, considering any prior acts of dishonesty.
