Baca weighs agency merger

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, who already leads the largest sheriff’s department in the nation, may soon try to make his agency even bigger.

At the request of the county’s top administrator, Baca has assigned a team to explore taking over the county Office of Public Safety, a police force that patrols parks, hospitals and government buildings.

Although relatively obscure, it is the fourth-largest police department in the county, with more than 460 sworn officers. It is led by a high-profile chief, Margaret York, a former top-ranking Los Angeles Police Department executive whose work as an LAPD detective was the inspiration for the television series “Cagney and Lacey.” She’s married to Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lance Ito.

York’s department has been under pressure. It has struggled to keep officers on the force in part because it pays far less than other agencies, including the Sheriff’s Department. Veteran county police officers draw base salaries of about $52,000 compared with $76,000 for sheriff’s deputies. County police officers recently lost a lawsuit that sought to bring their pay in line with that of sheriff’s deputies.

Also, a sergeant filed a federal lawsuit against the department last year, alleging that he was denied promotion because he annoyed supervisors by reporting misconduct by fellow officers.

Among Sgt. Richard Robinson’s allegations: that an officer worked security for the Los Angeles Clippers while on the clock as a county police officer, that police executives drove county cars to a bar and drank while on duty and that officers covered up instances of excessive force against suspects.

A sergeant assigned to work for York reportedly said that Robinson was a top employee but “would never be promoted because he reports too much misconduct,” according to a declaration in the lawsuit. The case has not yet gone to trial.

Neither Robinson nor York would discuss the lawsuit -- or the outcome of internal affairs investigations into the alleged misconduct he reported. “We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously,” York said.

County Chief Executive Officer William T Fujioka said a Sheriff’s Department takeover is one of several options he’s considering. The county police currently report to the CEO’s office, an arrangement that Fujioka finds uncomfortable.

“I’m not a law enforcement person,” Fujioka said. “The sheriff is our chief law enforcement officer. He knows how to supervise a law enforcement or security function. It seems to me it would be appropriate to look at that as one of the options.”

For the last few weeks, sheriff’s employees have been visiting facilities that the county police supervise to determine how much a merger would cost. The Board of Supervisors would ultimately decide whether a merger was appropriate.

Sheriff’s Capt. Edward Rogner said the department could save money if it had security guards perform some of the functions now handled by sworn officers. He said he expects to complete a report by early November.

If a merger took place, it would be one of the largest in Sheriff’s Department history -- and the third since Baca took office in 1998. He also supervised takeovers of the Compton Police Department and the community college police force, adding a combined 200 deputy positions. The Sheriff’s Department has more than 9,100 sworn deputies.

York said she believes her department is performing well, but she is not opposed to a merger.

“I’m very proud of the officers we have,” she said. “We have officers who are educated. We have officers who are bright. We have officers who are very committed to public service.

“Whether we become deputies or remain as a separate department, I’d be willing to put my officers up against any officers in the country.”

stuart.pfeifer@latimes.com