Robert Luna

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Robert Luna

Luna in 2022
Predecessor Alex Villanueva
Political party Democratic
Template:Infobox police officer

Robert G. Luna is an American law enforcement officer who is the Sheriff of Los Angeles County, previously serving as Chief of the Long Beach Police Department before defeating Sheriff Alex Villanueva in the 2022 election.[1] Sheriff Luna became the 2nd person to defeat a sitting Sheriff after Alex Villanueva. His son Asher Luna is a recruit for the Long Beach Police Department.

Early life

Luna was born and raised in East Los Angeles to immigrant parents and has said that his early experiences with deputies patrolling his neighborhood shaped his view of law enforcement.[2][3] He attended and later graduated from Long Beach City College, where he met Long Beach Police Sergeant Mike Woodward and decided to pursue becoming a law enforcement officer.[4]

Career

Luna as Long Beach Police Chief in 2016.

Long Beach Police Department

In 1985, he joined the Long Beach Police Department and served as a patrol officer and on the SWAT team and was named as the Deputy Chief in 2006. In 2014, Luna was appointed as the 26th Chief of the Long Beach Police Department, succeeding Jim McDonnell who had become the Sheriff of Los Angeles County.[5][6] In September 2021, Luna announced that he would retire in December of that year.[7]

Los Angeles County Sheriff

In December 2021, Luna entered the race for the 2022 Los Angeles County Sheriff election, challenging incumbent Alex Villanueva alongside a crowded field of candidates.[8][9] In the primary election, Luna scored second place in the election, putting him against Villanueva in the general election.[10] In the general election, Luna beat Villanueva to become Sheriff, with Villanueva conceding on November 15, 2022.[11] Luna was sworn in as Sheriff on December 5, 2022.[12]

According to the Los Angeles Times Luna ran on a reform platform.[13]

Luna ran on promises of reform and has implemented several changes in the department since taking office in December. He restored the ability of oversight officials to access sheriff’s databases, turned over controversial investigations to outside agencies, ordered his deputies to cooperate with investigations and created an office to 'eradicate' deputy gangs.[13]

Questionable use of force incidents in 2023

As of July 2023 three questionable use of force incidents have come to light under Luna's administration.[13]

During July 2022 deputies stopped a car that was being driven, at night, without headlights.[14] All four adults in the car were drunk. The three passengers in the car were mothers, holding young children in their lap, who should have been secured in car-seats designed to keep young children safe. Deputies decided all the adults should be charged with reckless endangerment of the children. Deputies requested the mothers to release their children, so they could be properly cared for, after their arrests. When the women refused they were told they would be forced to release their children. All the deputies had their body-cams turned on, and the cameras captured one deputy repeatedly punching one of the mothers in the head, to force her to release her child. When Luna released the footage he announced that deputy had been suspended and he had called in the FBI to investigate.

On February 10, 2023, surveillance footage shows deputy Joseph Bemba brutally beating Emmett Brock in a Seven-eleven parking lot. Brock was left with a concussion, and the bogus charges filed against him triggered his losing his job as a teacher.[13] Unlike the earlier incident, under his predecessor's administration, Luna did not suspect Bemba.

References

  1. ↑ Tchekmedyian, Alene (November 15, 2022). "Robert Luna to become L.A. County sheriff as Alex Villanueva concedes". Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-11-15/luna-wins-la-county-sheriff-election-over-villanueva. 
  2. ↑ Cagle, Kate (March 14, 2022). "Sheriff candidate Robert Luna goes back to his East LA roots". https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/politics/2022/03/14/sheriff-candidate-robert-luna-goes-back-to-his-east-la-roots. 
  3. ↑ "East L.A. native Robert Luna sworn in as L.A. County Sheriff". December 3, 2022. https://www.theeastsiderla.com/news/east-l-a-native-robert-luna-sworn-in-as-l-a-county-sheriff/article_2bf0a8d2-736f-11ed-a683-5bff5615c381.html. 
  4. ↑ "Chief Robert Luna". https://www.lbcc.edu/post/chief-robert-luna. 
  5. ↑ Vives, Ruben (November 11, 2014). "Long Beach selects its first Latino police chief: Robert Luna". Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-new-long-beach-police-chief-20141111-story.html. Retrieved November 30, 2014. 
  6. ↑ Valenzuela, Beatriz E. (November 22, 2014). "Robert Luna sworn in as Long Beach's 26th police chief". https://www.presstelegram.com/2014/11/22/robert-luna-sworn-in-as-long-beachs-26th-police-chief/. 
  7. ↑ Rasmussen, Emily (September 9, 2021). "Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna to retire in December". https://www.presstelegram.com/2021/09/09/long-beach-police-chief-robert-luna-to-retire-in-december/. 
  8. ↑ Saltzgaver, Harry (December 1, 2021). "Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna formally enters crowded LA County Sheriff's race". https://www.presstelegram.com/2021/12/01/long-beach-police-chief-robert-luna-launches-bid-for-la-county-sheriff/. 
  9. ↑ Saltzgaver, Harry (November 30, 2021). "Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna will challenge Villanueva in LA County Sheriff race". https://www.presstelegram.com/2021/11/30/long-beach-police-chief-robert-luna-will-challenge-villanueva-in-la-county-sheriff-race/. 
  10. ↑ Sheets, Connor (October 20, 2022). "Luna is running for Los Angeles County sheriff as the anti-Villanueva. Will it work?". https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-10-20/robert-luna-profile. 
  11. ↑ Lee, Hunter (November 15, 2022). "Sheriff Alex Villanueva concedes defeat to ex-Long Beach police chief Robert Luna". https://www.dailynews.com/2022/11/15/sheriff-alex-villanueva-concedes-defeat-to-ex-long-beach-police-chief-robert-luna/. 
  12. ↑ Gutierrez, Rebecca; Stoltze, Frank (December 4, 2022). "Robert Luna Is Sworn In As Los Angeles County Sheriff". https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/robert-luna-is-sworn-in-as-los-angeles-county-sheriff. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Keri Blakinger (2023-07-23). "‘I can’t die like this’: Video shows trans man beaten by deputy during stop". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2023-07-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20230725153928/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-07-23/video-trans-man-beaten-la-county-sheriff-deputy. Retrieved 2023-07-25. "Luna ran on promises of reform and has implemented several changes in the department since taking office in December. He restored the ability of oversight officials to access sheriff’s databases, turned over controversial investigations to outside agencies, ordered his deputies to cooperate with investigations and created an office to 'eradicate' deputy gangs." 
  14. ↑ Keri Blakinger (2023-07-12). "Body-cam footage shows Palmdale sheriff’s deputy punching a woman holding her baby". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2023-07-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20230724180457/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-07-12/body-cam-footage-shows-palmdale-sheriff-deputy-punching-a-woman-holding-her-baby. Retrieved 2023-07-25. "Though the traffic stop and outburst of violence occurred in July 2022, under the prior sheriff’s administration, it came to light this week after Sheriff Robert Luna called a news conference to release body-camera footage and announce his decision to turn the case over to the FBI for further investigation and to local prosecutors for consideration of criminal charges." 
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