PPOA Week in Review: August 12, 2023

LASD Deputy Alejandro Martinez-Inzuna Laid to Rest

Family members, friends and colleagues of Deputy Alejandro Martinez-Inzuna gathered at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday to pay final respects to the 27-year old US Army National Guard veteran. Deputy Martinez-Inzuna suffered critical injuries during a training run with Class 464 in November 2022 when he and his academy classmates were struck by a vehicle in Whittier. He was sworn in as a deputy while in the hospital and fought valiantly for his life for eight months before succumbing to his injuries on July 28, 2023.

PPOA extends heartfelt condolences to the Martinez-Inzuna family and we ask that you keep them in your thoughts and prayers at this very difficult time.

PPOA Board of Directors Meeting

August 9: The monthly PPOA Board of Directors meeting was hosted in San Dimas on Wednesday. Directors in attendance included President Nancy Escobedo, 1st Vice President Jay Chapman, 2nd Vice President Tony Coleman, Secretary Christopher Lee, Treasurer Joyce Kato, and Board Members Juan Carlos Calderon, Gerry Garcia, Roel Garcia, and Joe Walker.

PPOA Welcomes New Sergeants

August 10: PPOA representatives proudly welcomed newly-promoted LASD Sergeants to this Association this week. The Department's newest supervisors reported to the Sherman Block Building in Monterey Park to pick up their new badges and were joined by President Escobedo and PPOA staff members in order to answer questions and ensure the Sergeants would be protected by union representation. They will begin reporting to new assignments tomorrow and will soon be scheduled to attend their two-week Sergeant Supervisory School.

REMINDER:

Crucial LACERA Election for Retired Members;

Vote for HARRIS and MARTIN

ATTENTION RETIRED PPOA MEMBERS - Help protect your pension and healthcare benefits by voting for these LACERA candidates who have been endorsed by PPOA and ALADS:

J.P. HARRIS (LASD retired/PPOA member/former ALADS president) for Alternate Retired Member, LACERA Board of Retirement
DEBBIE MARTIN (retired LA County chief deputy director) for 8th Member, LACERA Board of Investments

Retired PPOA member Les Robbins is also up for election this year, however he is running unopposed for the LACERA Board of Retirement and will be automatically re-elected.

The PPOA Board of Directors is confident that J.P. Harris and Debbie Martin are uniquely qualified to protect the interests of our members. We strongly encourage retired PPOA members to vote for Harris and Martin for their respective seats.

About the Election

Members of the Los Angeles County Employee Retirement Association (LACERA) who were retired on or before April 15 are eligible to vote in the election, which will be held August 4-31. LACERA members may vote by email or printed ballot. Ballots were mailed to members on August 2. Voter information and log-in credentials were e-mailed on August 4 to retirees who have valid e-mail addresses on file with LACERA. Those who do not have an email address or have an invalid e-mail address on file with LACERA will receive log-in credentials and voter information with their paper ballots.

Click here for LACERA election information, candidate statements, and a list of departmental election coordinators.

About LACERA

The Board of Retirement and Board of Investments govern LACERA, which is an independent government entity separate and distinct from the County of Los Angeles. LACERA administers and manages the retirement fund for the County and outside special districts, one of the largest county retirement systems in the United States. The Board of Retirement is responsible for the administration of the retirement system, the retiree health care program, and the review and processing of disability retirement applications. The Board of Investments is responsible for establishing LACERA’s investment policy and objectives, exercising authority and control over the investment management of the fund, and establishing contribution rates to assure proper funding of the system.

Fraternal Order of Police News Update

PPOA members have long benefitted from our longtime affiliation with the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the world's largest organization of law enforcement officers, with more than 364,000 members in more than 2,100 lodges nationwide. All active PPOA members are part of California FOP Lodge 1.

Important news regarding FOP membership for retired PPOA members: When a sworn PPOA member retires and wishes to reactivate his/her FOP member benefits, the following step must be taken:

To reactivate your membership as a retired peace officer, you will need to pay FOP annual dues of $40 for 2023. To do so, please send an email to the FOP Lodge 1 Secretary: wmwestermann@sbcglobal.net. Be sure to include your full name and advise you are a retired PPOA member requesting membership with FOP.

Please make it a point to check out Washington Watch — a weekly update provided by the National FOP. We encourage PPOA members to stay up to date on the legislative news and activity impacting public safety personnel nationwide.

Click here to read this week's Washington Watch.

22nd Annual PPOA Pre-Labor Day BBQ

and General Membership Meeting

PPOA is excited to announce our 22nd Annual Pre-Labor Day BBQ and General Membership Meeting is scheduled for August 30th. Join hundreds of fellow PPOA members for this FREE, FUN event!

Wednesday, August 30, 2023
Biscailuz Center
10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Free lunch for PPOA members and immediate family, along with free giveaways, drawings, music, vendors and more...