Chair of L.A. County Sheriff’s Department civilian oversight panel says he is being forced out
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The top official on the watchdog commission that oversees the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is being terminated from his position, according to correspondence reviewed by The Times.
Robert Bonner, chair of the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission, wrote in a letter Wednesday to L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger that he received a letter from her May 13 that said he was being replaced.
Bonner wrote in the letter that he had contacted Barger’s office to request “an opportunity to meet with you and to express ‘my personal wish to be able to finish out the year.’” Barger’s office said May 15 that a scheduler would reach out to set up a meeting, but that never happened, according to Bonner’s letter. He added that he is “involuntarily leaving the Commission” and that he would prefer to stay on to finish work that is underway.
A former civilian watchdog of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department received notice last week that said he’s under investigation for allegedly retaliating against a deputy who was scrutinized for his role in a unit accused of pursuing politically motivated cases.
“Given the length of time that I have been on the Commission, and that I am the current Chair of the Commission with another possible year as Chair, I expected as a matter of courtesy that you would want to speak with me and hear me out,” Bonner, 83, wrote.
Barger, who chairs the County Board of Supervisors, provided a statement via email.
“Mr. Bonner’s current term expired and I am granting him the opportunity to finish his term as Chair,” she wrote. “As stated in my letter to him, I appreciate Mr. Bonner’s service and contributions to the Civilian Oversight Commission.”
Barger added that she is “committed to broadening the diversity of voices and expertise represented on the Commission.” She said her “decision reflects my desire to continue cultivating public trust in the oversight process by introducing new perspectives that support the Commission’s vital work.”
Bonner did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday. Bonner’s letter did not say when he will serve his final day as a member of the commission.
A former federal judge, Bonner began his second stint as chair of the commission in July. He previously served as its first chair for two years from 2016 to 2018. Chairs and officers of the oversight commission are elected to one-year terms each July and can serve only two consecutive years in those roles.
Bonner’s letter stated that he has been working on several important issues that he was hoping to see through.
The initiatives included revisions to the Los Angeles County code to help ensure that the commission can serve as an independent oversight body; legal action to ensure that the commission can review confidential documents in closed session; the shepherding of Assembly Bill 847, a bill passed by the state Assembly on June 2 that would ensure civilian oversight commissions can review confidential documents in closed session; and efforts to eliminate deputy gangs and cliques.
“Hopefully,” Bonner wrote in his letter, his colleagues on the commission “will be able to implement these goals while I am attempting to improve my tennis game.”
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