Unanimous vote removes Los Angeles Sheriff as chief of county emergency command

Photo:
Aurelia Ventura / Impremedia / La Opinion

He Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, voted unanimously to remove the Sheriff, Alex Villanueva, as the head of the county emergency operations center, alleging that you need to centralize operations after inability and lack of county coordination to respond to the 2018 Woolsey fires.

In a digital conference with the Board of Supervisors, the Sheriff He said he considered the measure as "irresponsible”To be carried out during the emergency by the COVID-19. However, the council stated that the decision stems from an investigation that showed the county was unprepared to deal with the emergency caused by the Woolsey fire, which burned 97,000 acres Y killed three people in 2018.

During the meeting the supervisor Sheila Kuehl He stated that the measure was not personal, "It's not about him, it's about the safety of millions of people in the county" The change would put the county executive director as the head of the emergency command.

The Sheriff published on his Twitter account a statement in which he states his, “commitment to the safety of L.A. residents and expects a transition plan from the Supervirores Council and the executive director"