County/State

L.A. County Public Health Director Responds to Death Threats

Los Angeles County Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer addressed death threats she has received during Monday’s COVID-19 briefing. "I, like hundreds of other health officials across the county, have in fact received threats and have in fact received a lot of hate mail. For me, it goes back to March. The threats were in the middle of May," she shared.

Dr. Ferrer also released the following statement: "COVID-19 has upended thousands and thousands of lives all across the nation. The virus has changed our world as we know it, and people are angry. As of today, 83,397 cases have been reported in Los Angeles County and 3,120 people have died from this virus. We mourn every single one of those deaths, and we are working tirelessly to slow the spread of COVID-19 and find good solutions for the future of our communities.

“And while the devastation experienced by so many is heartbreaking, it is also disheartening that an increasing number of public health officials, across the country —myself included — are threatened with violence on a regular basis. In my case, the death threats started last month, during a COVID-19 Facebook Live public briefing when someone very casually suggested that I should be shot. I didn’t immediately see the message, but my husband did, my children did, and so did my colleagues. One reason I handle these briefings myself is to shield the extraordinary team at L.A. County Public Health from these attacks which have been going on, via emails, public postings, and letters — since March. It is deeply worrisome to imagine that our hardworking infectious disease physicians, nurses, epidemiologists and environmental health specialists or any of our other team members would have to face this level of hatred.

“Our job and our calling is to keep as many people as safe as possible during this pandemic. We did not create this virus. We come into work every single day prepared to do our very best, prepared to work with everyone, with all of our partners, to try to continue to contain this pandemic and to try to continue to minimize the loss of life. And while frustration boils over in our communities as people are done with this virus, this virus is not done with us. “As public health officials, we try hard not to be influenced by partisan politics or public sentiment — we must follow the science in order to save lives. And the science says if we don’t change the way we go about our daily routines, we could pay for it with our lives or the lives of others around us. Change is hard, but we must change if we want to contain this virus. Face coverings must be worn because they help to stop the spread of the virus. I recognize there is a lot of pushback from people not wanting to wear face coverings — when wearing a seatbelt was made mandatory in California there was a lot of pushback, too. But the data proves that seatbelts save lives, and the data also proves that wearing a face covering will help stop transmission of COVID-19, which will save lives. And that’s what drives public health officials and is our passion: saving lives."

Board of Supervisors Requests Immediate Implementation of Body Worn Cameras by LASD

The Board of Supervisors requested Tuesday that L.A. County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) immediately implement the body worn camera program it has funded and staffed. The implementation timetable to roll out body worn cameras is the sole responsibility of LASD. Despite the Board setting aside nearly $35 million to equip 5,200 deputies and security officers with devices over the next two years, the program has yet to be implemented.

“In discussions about law enforcement accountability and greater transparency, which, frankly, come amid nationwide unrest over police brutality and use of deadly force, implementation of body worn cameras must be a priority for LASD,” said Supervisor Mark RidleyThomas, whose 2012 motion advanced body worn cameras. “The record is clear, the Board has been on this issue since 2012 and taken seriously its responsibility to see that there is greater accountability for the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, we ask they meet our efforts and do the same—to make this program a reality.”

As part of the Citizens’ Commission on Jail Violence (CCJV) 2012 recommendations on the need to curb excessive uses of force by law enforcement, the Board approved a motion authored by Supervisor Ridley-Thomas, which included the use of body-worn cameras. Since then, the Board has approved subsequent motions to move the program forward and most recently, in September 2019, directed the Sheriff to implement the Body Worn Camera program and appointed the Office of Inspector General to

monitor implementation.

“The Board of Supervisors and the Chief Executive Office are steadfast supporters of the Body Worn Camera program and have long championed this technology as an essential investment in law enforcement transparency and accountability,” said Sachi Hamai, chief executive officer of Los Angeles County “Over the past three years, the Board has proactively set aside $34.78 million in a dedicated account to support this program, and on September 24, 2019, unanimously approved a motion to authorize the Sheriff’s Department to implement this project.

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