Lee Baca

Baca was elected Los Angeles County's 30th Sheriff against his mentor Sherman Block, who had died in office days prior to the election but remained on the ballot.

Leroy David Baca (born May 27, 1942) is a former American law enforcement officer and convicted felon who served as the 30th Sheriff of Los Angeles County, California from 1998 to 2014.

On May 27, 1942, Baca was born in East Los Angeles, California.

Baca's mother was a seamstress born in Michoacán and then brought to the U.S. when she was a year old.

His parents divorced and Baca grew up with his grandparents Clara and Thomas Baca.

Thomas Baca came from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

In 1960, Baca graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School, located in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.

In high school, Baca was the student senior class president.

Baca graduated from East Los Angeles College.

In 1964, Baca joined the United States Marine Corps Reserve.

On August 23, 1965, Baca was sworn in as a deputy Sheriff trainee of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.

Baca began his career in street patrol, custody, and recruitment, and was a staff instructor at the Sheriff's Academy.

In 1971, Baca received a bachelor's degree from California State University, Los Angeles.

In 1974, Baca earned a Master of Public Administration degree from USC.

In 1981, Baca became captain of the Norwalk, California, Sheriff station.

On January 23, 1992, Sheriff Sherman Block promoted Baca to the rank of chief deputy.

In 1993, Baca received a Doctorate of Public Administration degree from USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development.

He was sworn in on December 7, 1998.

On December 7, 1998, Baca was sworn in as Los Angeles County Sheriff.

In 1999, Baca established a special reserves program.

According to The Los Angeles Times, 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 of securing 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 reserves program was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of international money laundering.

No well-known celebrities joined the program, and fewer than 20 little-known wealthy individuals actually participated.

He was 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.

On November 9, 2006, Baca and Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley issued a press release regarding their joint policy on early release, which requires all jail inmates to serve at least 25% of their sentence before becoming eligible for early release.

In the press release, 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."

The program was suspended in November 2006.

On July 28, 2006, actor Mel Gibson was arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) while speeding in his vehicle with an open container of alcohol." According to the arrest report, Gibson exploded into an angry tirade when the arresting officer would not allow him to drive home. According to arresting officer notes subsequently obtained by the media website TMZ, Gibson said to the arresting officer "Fucking Jews... the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.

He was re-elected to a fourth term in 2010.

On January 7, 2014, Baca resigned facing a tough re-election campaign, amid a prison-abuse scandal that eventually led to his conviction three years later.

He opposed the California ban on shark finning and is a Republican who opposed California Proposition 8.

Baca supported Secure Communities, a program by the Department of Homeland Security in which the federal government collaborates with local law enforcement to detain and deport undocumented immigrants.

In 2017, he was convicted of felony obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI.

On May 12, 2017, Baca was sentenced to three years in federal prison for his role in a scheme to obstruct an FBI investigation of abuses in county jails.

Baca reported to prison and began his sentence on February 5, 2020.