Oversight body urges supervisors to reject resignation, blasts county counsel

The Los Angeles County Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission (COC) has unanimously voted to urge the Board of Supervisors to reject the resignation of Commissioner Sean Kennedy, accusing the Office of the County Counsel of hindering its oversight work.

"It's been moved and seconded that the commission urge the Board of Supervisors to not accept the resignation of Sean Kennedy, and in any event before accepting it that they invite Sean Kennedy to appear at their next meeting to ask him why he wants to resign," Commission Chair Robert C. Bonner said at a Feb. 20 meeting of the commission.

In a responding news release, the county counsel's office said the oversight commission "seems to have lost its focus."

"We fully support its efforts to seek the information it needs to play a powerful oversight role on behalf of LA County citizens, but we cannot support the grandstanding and divisiveness now on display," the release read.

Kennedy's resignation followed claims that the office of county counsel threatened him with legal action for filing an amicus brief in the case of Diana Teran, a deputy district attorney to former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón. Teran was charged by the state attorney general with six felonies after allegedly accessing sheriff personnel records to share with prosecutors to crack down on officer misconduct. People of the State of California v. Teran, 24CJCF02649 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed April 24, 2024).

The commission's amicus brief, filed Feb. 17, argued that the state's action against Teran inhibits meaningful oversight of law enforcement.

"An oversight body's access to documents is particularly important in California because extremely strict statutory confidentiality for police personnel files prohibits members of the public from accessing information about police misconduct," the brief read.

In his resignation letter dated Feb. 18, Kennedy said county counsel threatened to report him for making misrepresentations to the court in the amicus brief - a move he said "crossed a personal red line."

"I deeply regret leaving my fellow commissioners, a highly committed group of volunteers dedicated to achieving much-needed police reforms in our community," Kennedy wrote. "Former President Obama's Taskforce on 21st Century Policing warned that without robust, independent oversight 'it is difficult if not impossible for the police to maintain the public's trust.' I hope that this Board will encourage the County Counsel to support the COC's independence rather than continue thwarting it."

Kennedy is the executive director for the Center for Juvenile Law & Policy at Loyola Marymount University.

The commission announced their vote opposing Kennedy's departure in a news release on Friday.

"When the Board created this Commission, it directed us to carry out critical work to ensure constitutional policing and build public trust in the Sheriff's Department (LASD)," Commissioner Patti Giggans said in the release. "Instead of furthering our work, County Counsel is impeding it with pettiness, shortsightedness, and delays. Oversight delayed is oversight denied."

The office of county counsel defended its position in its responding news release on Friday.

"The dispute comes down to a simple fact: the COC--like every other advisory commission created by the Board of Supervisors and all County departments--is not allowed to act independently of the Board of Supervisors," the release read. "It is the Office of County Counsel's job to help all commissions and departments navigate federal, state, and local regulations to ensure their actions are consistent and in alignment with the policy and legal direction from the Board of Supervisors. This is exactly what the Office of County Counsel has done for the COC."

The office further argued that the oversight commission is an advisory body, not an independent one, and that approval of its actions should be sought through its executive director and assigned county staff.

"As for the amicus brief itself, there are other simple solutions, all of which the COC, unfortunately, has declined to pursue," the release read. "If they are not interested in seeking the Board's approval, Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Bonner can resubmit their brief filing in their individual capacities, for example. The commission's wish for the Board to reject Sean Kennedy's resignation could also have taken a simpler route--no press release is required, a simple letter would do."