Statement on Federal Conviction of Former Undersheriff Paul Tanaka
Los Angeles, April 6, 2016 - George Hofstetter, President of the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs (ALADS) issued the following statement regarding the guilty verdict in the criminal trial of former Undersheriff Paul Tanaka.
"The era of corruption which characterized the upper management in the L.A. County Sheriff's Department has ended with the conviction of former Undersheriff Paul Tanaka. The Department can move forward now that the truth about the failed leadership of disgraced former Sheriff Lee Baca and Undersheriff Paul Tanaka has been revealed through the judicial process. The Baca-Tanaka era created leadership failures that left the Sheriff's Department and ALADS members with real scars from rising assaults on deputies, and emotional scars from diminished morale as deputies struggled to perform a dangerous and difficult job under a cloud they didn't create. With this verdict, the Department is rid of the culture that created the corruption. The men and women who serve proudly as Deputy Sheriffs shall remain focused on restoring confidence and trust to the public we are sworn to serve.
We at ALADS find it unconscionable that the persons who created, perpetuated, and directed the diseased culture which encouraged a top-down culture of corruption may get off with a relative slap on the wrist while the people who either followed or thought they were following Baca/Tanaka's direct orders and policy will languish for years in prison. We don't excuse the behavior of those persons, but only contrast the potential maximum punishment Sheriff Baca received with the potential punishment the mastermind of the criminal conduct will receive. I hope Federal prosecutors will revisit all sentencing that was handed out to deputies who were following what they felt were the lawful orders of a corrupt regime.
The Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs (
ALADS) is the collective bargaining agent and represents more than 8,200 deputy sheriffs and district attorney investigators working in Los Angeles County.
