The Los Angeles County Public Hearing Commission is suing the county Sheriff's Department, asking a judge to order the release of records related to two incidents in which deputies were accused of assault and a third involving a mysterious on-the-job shooting.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, is the latest effort by the watchdog to force the department to provide access to records. The commission issued three subpoenas in February 2025, but according to the lawsuits, the Department has repeatedly refused to fully comply.
The ministry is adamant that it cannot release the documents without repurchase because they are confidential. County officials said they are required by law to “meet and confer” with Sheriff's Department unions before handing over the records. But the Civilian Oversight Commission says those arguments, first made by the district attorney's office, are invalid given recent developments.
“The Commission respectfully requests that the Court issue an order to show cause why LASD should not be ordered to comply with the Subpoena,” the oversight body wrote in a court filing filed Monday.
The Sheriff's Department provided the Times with an unsigned statement that said “disclosure of otherwise confidential records, and how those records should be kept confidential, affects our employees.”
“Because of this,” the statement added, “the best course of action is to complete the merger process and ensure that all concerns are addressed.”
In 2020, the voters of the district approved by Measure Rwhich gave the supervisory commission the power to subpoena. In the fall of 2025, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 847, which amended the penal code to allow oversight commissions to obtain confidential sheriff's department documents and review them in camera. This law came into effect at the beginning of this year.
In March, the appeals court he ruled that Sonoma County's supervisory body is legally authorized to subpoena the county Sheriff's Office and ordered the office to comply with the board's requests to subpoena investigative records.
In LA County, the Civilian Oversight Commission said in March's decision, AB 847 and Measure R combine to strengthen its subpoena power. But the Sheriff's Department continued to deny the commission's requests, citing advice from the district attorney's office.
District Attorney Dawyn Harrison in an emailed statement late Tuesday said the commission's lawsuit is “illegal” because it was “not initiated, filed, or authorized by this office, nor was it authorized by the Board of Supervisors.”
The oversight body, “like all other advisory commissions created by the Board and all County departments, is not allowed to operate independently of the Board,” the statement said.
Refusing to subpoena records related to law enforcement actions is contrary to state law, court decisions and the wishes of county voters, according to Hans Johnson, chairman of the Citizens' Watch Commission.
“What does the county counsel not want the people of Los Angeles County to see?” he said while talking. “I will ask that question many times because the law is clear and people have been clear about this issue that we need to know, and we have set policies that protect the public's right to know.”
Complaints filed by the Citizens Oversight Commission regarding three different incidents.
2020, Joseph Perez he was beaten and was dismissed by San Gabriel Valley sheriff's deputies. That same year, 18-year-old Andres Guardado was shot in the back and killed by sheriff's deputies. In 2023, Emmett Brock, a transgender man, was beaten by a Norwalk deputy who later pleaded guilty to violating civil rights by using excessive force.
Last year, the commission subpoenaed the Sheriff's Department for unaltered records related to each case. Perez, Brock and their loved ones are still waiting for the papers to be released.
Perez's mother, Vanessa, has advocated for more publicity about her son's case. On Monday, his written statement was filed as part of a new lawsuit against the Sheriff's Department. Last year, his son explained that he supported the release of all records related to his beating.
“They almost killed me, they didn't care if I was dead or not,” he told the Times. “I hope that I will find evidence to show that I was right.”
