Deputies Can Change Hours to Go to Hearing

Top officials at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s West Hollywood station are offering to change deputies’ work schedules to ensure that “as many personnel as possible� show up at a public hearing into operations of the controversy-plagued department.

“These are difficult times for those of us in law enforcement,� states a commanding officer’s memo obtained by The Times. “We are being prejudged because of the actions of a few, and tensions are high among the people we serve and among ourselves.�

The memo, sent to “all personnel� by Acting Capt. Irene McReynolds, requests supervisors “to accommodate as many personnel as possible� so that they can attend the hearing off-duty.

The County Board of Supervisors took the unprecedented step of ordering the public hearing on the department in the wake of four fatal shootings by deputies since Aug. 3. The hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday in the board chambers in the Hall of Administration.

“Capt. (Clarence) Chapman has asked that I invite each of you, duties permitting, to attend this hearing as a means of demonstrating your support for our sheriff, Sherman Block, for whom we are all proud to work,� the memo said.

“Since your attendance on duty would be inappropriate in that it would be equal to a gift of public funds, schedule adjustments and/or the use of pre-approved time will be necessary.�

Supervisor Gloria Molina assailed the memo Thursday, saying, “This business of trying to stack a meeting is inappropriate. It’s a shame they are going to these lengths to get support.�

Molina said the memo sets up a “them vs. us kind of mentality, instead of looking at the hearing as a way to bring grievances forward and having them addressed by the sheriff. I was hopeful that there would be mutual understanding that we’ve got some problems that need to be aired out.�

Sheriff’s Department spokesman Lt. Jeff Springs said there is no effort by the department to pack the meeting, “but the sheriff fully intends to bring supporters from the community with him just as members of the Board of Supervisors are going to do.�

Springs said he did not know whether Block was aware of the memo. He called it a “strictly in-house memo,� adding that he had not heard of similar communiques being issued in other stations.

“The content of the memo is to inform deputies of the board meeting, and we are trying to accommodate anyone who wants to go. The sheriff is an equal partner in this meeting with the supervisors. They have the ability to bring any speakers or supporters to the hearing. The sheriff has that same privilege.�

Springs said he saw nothing inappropriate in the memo. “We’re talking about the present and the future of our department,� he said.