Statement by Supervisor Ridley-Thomas in Response to Board Action to Designate the CEO with Responsibility for Overseeing the County’s Emergency Response

Los Angeles, CA (March, 31) The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was first established in 1850 when the population of the County was just over 3,500 people. Over the past 170 years, the role of County government has significantly evolved to now serve a population of over 10 million people that live across more than 4,000 square miles. The role of the Sheriff in responding to an emergency is important – but when it comes to  multi-faceted and dynamic emergencies that extend beyond the focus of law enforcement and of unprecedented scale, scope and character, we need a modern-day response for which the governing body, namely the Board of Supervisors, is responsible. This is not a petty, ill-timed spat – this is about putting our best foot forward to address a pandemic with profound impacts to almost every aspect of our economy, health system, and human services.