The sheriffs of Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties on Saturday slammed state lawmakers and other officials who they say have rejected measures that would have promoted public safety.
The setting was the vast Hangar 4 at Chino Airport, where upwards of 700 people — almost all loudly supporting the sheriffs — heard Riverside County’s Chad Bianco, San Bernardino County’s Shannon Dicus and LA County’s Alex Villanueva speak on an improvised stage with airplanes parked in the background, the Orange County Register reports.
The sheriffs addressed a range of topics, including their refusal to enforce mask mandates, public outreach, fentanyl abuse, what they consider small penalties for illegal marijuana grows that threaten public safety and their efforts to issue more concealed weapons permits. Within those discussions, the sheriffs many times referenced disappointment with state politicians and, in Villanueva’s case, his running battles with the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the Los Angeles City Council and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board.
“I need a new Board of Supervisors,” Villanueva said.
Metro and the 14 “woke” members of its public safety committee, Villanueva said, do not allow deputies to arrest most troublemakers on the trains.
“What we are missing is political will,” Villanueva said. “We have the answers.”
