Alex Villanueva


Alejandro Villanueva is an American law enforcement officer who serves as the 33rd Sheriff of Los Angeles County, California. He competed against 32nd and then-incumbent sheriff Jim McDonnell in the 2018 L.A. County Sheriff's race. Before becoming Sheriff, he was a sheriff's lieutenant with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Early life

Villanueva was born in Chicago in 1963. Villanueva's father is Puerto Rican and his mother is a Polish-American. Villanueva spent time living in Rochester and Queens, New York, and Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.

Education

Villanueva earned a Bachelor's degree in Liberal Studies from the University of the State of New York, Regents College, now known as Excelsior College. Villanueva earned a Master's degree from CSU Northridge. Villanueva earned a Doctoral degree in Public Administration from University of La Verne.

Career

Villanueva served in the United States Air Force and was stationed at the Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino, California, as well as in the California Army National Guard.
Villanueva joined the Sheriff's Department in 1986, and settled in La Habra Heights, California. In 2018, Villanueva became the sheriff of Los Angeles County, California.
Villanueva ordered the deletion of improperly taken graphic photos of the crash that killed Kobe Bryant taken by his deputies in 2020; the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission questioned whether that amounted to a cover-up.
In March 2020 amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors removed Villanueva from his position as head of emergency operations due to the poor emergency response to the Woolsey Fire cited in a county-commissioned report. In May 2020 the Oversight Commission, which claims it was granted the power to subpoena the Sheriff to appear at its civilian oversight meeting by the passage of Measure R, and by the Board of Supervisors, did so, but were rebuffed by Villanueva, who refused to appear before the Commission.

Personal life

Villanueva's wife is Vivian Villanueva. Villanueva has a son from a previous marriage.