Lee Baca
Encyclopedia
Leroy David "Lee" Baca is the Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....

 of Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...

. Baca holds a Doctorate of Public Administration from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

.

Baca was elected Los Angeles County's 30th Sheriff against his mentor Sherman Block
Sherman Block
Sherman Block was the 29th Sheriff of Los Angeles County, California from January 1982 until his death.He was preceded by Peter Pitchess and succeeded by Lee Baca....

, who had died in office days prior to the election but remained on the ballot. He was sworn in on December 7, 1998.

He was re-elected to a fourth term in 2010. He has been criticized for proposing a half-percent sales tax increase in 2004 to hire more deputy sheriffs, placing friends on the payroll, taking of gifts and for releasing inmates from the Los Angeles County Jail.

Personal life

Baca is married to Carol Baca. They are active in various community organizations, including the Los Angeles Chinese American Museum
Chinese American Museum
The Chinese American Museum is a museum located in Downtown Los Angeles as a part of the El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument. It is dedicated to the history and experience of Chinese Americans in the state of California, first such museum in Southern California...

. He opposed the California ban on shark fins
Shark finning
Shark finning refers to the removal and retention of shark fins and the discarding of the rest of the fish. Shark finning takes place at sea so the fishers only have to transport the fins.Shark finning is widespread, and largely unmanaged and unmonitored...

. They were given the Historymakers Award in 2004 for visionary actions. He is a Republican who opposed California Proposition 8.

Policy on early release of county jail inmates

On November 9, 2006, Sheriff Baca and Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley
Steve Cooley
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Cooley is an American politician. As a Republican, he has been a prosecutor for 27 years and has been the Los Angeles County District Attorney since his election in 2000, in which he defeated incumbent two-term District Attorney Gil Garcetti, a Democrat...

 issued a press release regarding their joint policy on early release, which requires all jail inmates to serve at least 25 percent of their sentence before becoming eligible for early release. In the press release, Sheriff Baca said, "I also want to thank District Attorney Steve Cooley for his most valuable input on this matter. This new policy will move us forward to where one day all inmates will serve the entire time required." Also in the press release, Cooley said, "I commend Sheriff Baca for implementing this new policy". "This will assure that sentences imposed by the court will be carried out in a predictable and even-handed manner. The policy was also applauded by then Redondo Beach City Attorney Michael W. Webb, who said, "Defendants will no longer be able to routinely turn down offers that involve alternative sentences such as Cal Trans or other forms of community service."

Special reserves program

In 1999, Baca established a special reserves program. According to the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

,
the program was designed to cater to celebrities, executives, star athletes and other "notable persons." Some members of the Sheriff's Department said they were worried that the program would be abused, particularly by those seeking a backdoor way to secure a concealed weapons permit in Los Angeles County.

Within a month of Baca swearing in his first new celebrity reserve deputies, one of his recruits, Scott Zacky, had been suspended and relieved of duty for brandishing a firearm in a confrontation outside his Bel-Air home. The program would eventually be suspended. Less than six months later, another member of the special celebrity reserve unit was indicted by a federal grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...

 on charges of international money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...

. No well-known celebrities joined the program, and less than 20 little-known wealthy individuals actually participated. It was suspended in November, 2006.

Mel Gibson

After the July 28, 2006 arrest of Mel Gibson for drunk driving, the Los Angeles Sheriff Department initially told the press that Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...

 was arrested without incident or special treatment. Subsequent to this, the original arrest report was leaked to the media, which included controversial statements by Gibson. Prior to his arrest, Gibson filmed a PSA
Public service announcement
A public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...

 for Baca's relief committee dressed in a sheriff's uniform. Upon questioning by the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

about charges of celebrity favoritism, Baca denied that his department tried to cover up Gibson’s behavior.

At the time, the Times reported that a civilian oversight committee had decided to investigate whether Gibson had received favorable treatment because of his celebrity status or his longtime friendship with Baca.

Paris Hilton

On June 3, 2007, celebrity Paris Hilton
Paris Hilton
Paris Whitney Hilton is an American businesswoman, heiress, and socialite. She is a great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton . Hilton is known for her controversial participation in a sex tape in 2003, and appearance on the television series The Simple Life alongside fellow socialite and childhood...

 surrendered herself to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department to serve a 45 day sentence as ordered by Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer
Michael T. Sauer
Michael Thomas Sauer is a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge. He is best known for sentencing socialite Paris Hilton to 45 days in jail for violating terms of her probation. He was previously a Deputy City Attorney for Los Angeles, California and unsuccessfully argued the famous Cohen v...

. The 45 day sentence could be reduced to as few as 23 days for good behavior. She was placed in the Lynwood facility and separated from the general population for her safety.

Around 2 a.m. on June 7, 2007, Baca's department released Hilton after serving only 79 hours of her sentence. She was allowed to return home and her sentence was converted to 40 days of house arrest, amid rumors of a medical condition, which later emerged to be psychological.

The decision to convert her sentence was made by Baca without the consultation of either the presiding judge or the prosecuting city attorney. Further complicating the matter is the initial ruling in which the judge specifically said Hilton would not be allowed to use house arrest in lieu of jail. However, Superior Court spokesman Allan Parachini did acknowledge this is normally the purview of the sheriff saying, "Early release decisions are the province of the sheriff every day due to jail overcrowding, but not always".

The situation led the city attorney to file a petition suggesting that Baca should be held in contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...

 for his actions. Though the judge chose not to pursue any action against Sheriff Baca, he did reverse the decision and returned Hilton to jail while reaffirming the original sentence length. Hilton's attorney, Richard Hutton, saw his offer to brief the judge in private chambers on her condition, but this was declined. No written evidence was produced during the court session.

Baca later described Hilton's medical condition as a deteriorating, life-threatening condition that left her speaking incoherently.

CAIR

Baca is known for working with the Council on American-Islamic Relations
Council on American-Islamic Relations
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is America's largest Muslim civil liberties advocacy organization that deals with civil advocacy and promotes human rights...

 (CAIR), a Muslim civil liberties advocacy organization. He has drawn criticism for his actions in relation to the organization.

External links

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