Molina wants details on sheriff’s perks for reserve deputies

A Los Angeles County supervisor called on the Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday to be more transparent about how taxpayer dollars are being spent within its volunteer reserves program.

Supervisor Gloria Molina’s comments came after The Times reported this week that at least one reserve deputy — a fundraiser for Sheriff Lee Baca — had been assigned a county car, a perk most full-time deputies are denied. The department’s acknowledgment came after several initial refusals to disclose that information.

A motion introduced by Molina, and approved unanimously, urged the Sheriff’s Department to run its reserves program with “integrity and accountability.”

Last year, the Sheriff’s Department denied an inquiry about cars for reserves by one of its own captains, Phillip Hansen, who heads the reserves division. Hansen said he asked for the information after hearing complaints about deep-pocketed donors in the reserves program getting take-home cars.

Molina said she was disturbed that the department denied information to one of its own managers and said she has been faced with similar stonewalling recently when asking for information about the sheriff’s troubled jails.

“I feel for the captain because I feel like I’m in the same boat,” Molina said.

The Sheriff’s Department also refused to comply with a public records request last year from The Times regarding take-home county car use and gasoline consumption by four reserves who have given Baca political support or gifts. The department declined to even confirm that the men were reserves, citing “the confidential nature of some assignments.” All four, however, are named as sheriff’s reserves on department websites or other public listings.

Recently, sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore denied that any reserves were assigned cars. After being presented with conflicting evidence by The Times, he acknowledged that one reserve — Chris Vovos — had a personally assigned county car. He conceded that other reserves may have had vehicles as well, but he declined to say how many.

After The Times’ inquiries, Baca recalled county vehicles assigned to reserves and planned to draft a policy to prevent them from being assigned again, Whitmore said.

The department’s reserves, who are paid a dollar a year, generally work under the supervision of full-time deputies. Common tasks include administrative work and transporting of evidence, though some highly trained volunteers make on-duty arrests, help with search and rescue operations, and work in other specialized units.

Law enforcement experts said it would be difficult to justify assigning county cars to reserve deputies, given that most full-time sheriff’s deputies and many department supervisors don’t get that perk.

Whitmore said Vovos was not using his car for personal business but rather to drive around soliciting for equipment donations to the Sheriff’s Department.

Baca has faced criticism over the years about using county resources on behalf of contributors. On at least two occasions, he’s launched special investigations in another police agency’s jurisdiction on behalf of donors. In one case, a Beverly Hills lease dispute involving a contributor was assigned “rush” status, generally reserved for homicides and other high-priority cases, and the investigation was referred to internally as a “Sheriff Baca Special Request.”

Molina said Baca’s granting of privileges to donors who are not entitled to them has troubled her in the past.

Baca could not be reached for comment.

Molina said she expects the Sheriff’s Department to report back next week about the reserves program, including training, selection and the use of such resources as county cars. The board has also called on the Sheriff’s Department to explain why it refused to comply with the public records request from The Times.

robert.faturechi@latimes.com

ari.bloomekatz@latimes.com