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Leroy David Baca (born May 27, 1942) is the Sheriff of Los Angeles County, California.

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. He was sworn in on December 7, 1998.

He was re-elected to a third term in 2006. He has been 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.

Personal life

After graduating from Benjamin Franklin High School (Los Angeles) in 1960, Baca worked his way through East Los Angeles College and California State University, Los Angeles before starting with the L.A. County Sheriff's Department as a Deputy Sheriff Trainee on August 23, 1965.

He began his career in the department with various assignments, including in custody, recruitment, in patrol and the academy training staff. Then Sheriff Peter Pitchess promoted Baca to Captain in 1981 to command the Norwalk Station. Then Sheriff Sherman Block promoted Baca to Commander, giving him responsibilities for many stations and the Aero Bureau and Special Enforcement Bureau. On January 21, 1992, Sheriff Baca was promoted to the rank of Chief.

Baca later went back to school and graduated with a Doctorate of Public Administration from the University of Southern California in 1993.

Baca is married to Carol Baca. They are active in various community organizations, including the Los Angeles Chinese American Museum. They were given the Historymakers Award in 2004 for visionary actions.

Sheriff Baca serves the community in several capacities, by being on the Board of Directors for the Optimist Youth Homes and Ranch, Puente Learning Center, Buena Nueva Foundation, EMEK Hebrew Academy, and Harriett Buhai Center for Family Law, and serves on the Board of Governors of the USC Alumni Association.

Baca is a resident of San Marino, California.

Policy on early release of county jail inmates

On November 9, 2006, Sheriff 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 percent of their sentence before becoming eligible for early release. In the press release, Sheriff 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."

Controversies

Special reserves program

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 to secure 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 celebrity reserve unit was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of international money laundering. No well-known celebrities joined the program, and less than 20 little-known wealthy individuals actually participated. It was suspended in November, 2006.

Mel Gibson

After the July 28, 2006 arrest of Mel Gibson for drunk driving, the Los Angeles Sheriff Department initially told the press that Mel Gibson was arrested without incident or special treatment. Subsequent to this, the original arrest report was leaked to the media, which included controversial statements by Gibson. Prior to his arrest, Gibson filmed a PSA for Baca's relief committee dressed in a sheriff's uniform. Upon questioning by the Los Angeles Times about charges of celebrity favoritism, Baca denied that his department tried to cover up Gibson’s behavior.

At the time, the Times reported that a civilian oversight committee had decided to investigate whether Gibson had received favorable treatment because of his celebrity status or his longtime friendship with Baca.

Paris Hilton

On June 3, 2007, celebrity Paris Hilton surrendered herself to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department to serve a 45 day sentence as ordered by Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer. The 45 day sentence could be reduced to as few as 23 days for good behavior. She was placed in the Lynwood facility and separated from the general population for her safety.

Around 2 a.m. on June 7, 2007, Baca's department released Hilton after serving only 79 hours of her sentence. She was allowed to return home and her sentence was converted to 40 days of house arrest, amid rumors of a medical condition, which later emerged to be psychological.

The decision to convert her sentence was made by Baca without the consultation of either the presiding judge or the prosecuting city attorney. Further complicating the matter is the initial ruling in which the judge specifically said Hilton would not be allowed to use house arrest in lieu of jail. However, Superior Court spokesman Allan Parachini did acknowledge this is normally the purview of the sheriff saying, "Early release decisions are the province of the sheriff every day due to jail overcrowding, but not always".

The situation led the city attorney to file a petition suggesting that Baca should be held in contempt of court for his actions. Though the judge chose not to pursue any action against Sheriff Baca, he did reverse the decision and returned Hilton to jail while reaffirming the original sentence length. Hilton's attorney, Richard Hutton, saw his offer to brief the judge in private chambers on her condition, but this was declined. No written evidence was produced during the court session.

Baca commented on Paris Hilton's sentence, saying "The only thing I can detect as special treatment is the amount of her sentence. Under our 10 percent early release program, (Hilton) would have not served any time in our jail or would have been directly put on home electric monitoring system."

Baca later described Hilton's medical condition as a deteriorating, life-threatening condition that left her speaking incoherently.

Connection to the Church of Scientology

Baca was a guest speaker at the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre International 35th Anniversary Gala in Hollywood, Saturday, August 7th, 2004. At that event he acknowledged the Church of Scientology for being active at the forefront of conflict resolution. Baca also made an appearance on a Scientology float in a 2004 Hollywood Christmas parade. He also received an award from Association for Better Living and Education in 2004.

Baca's wife Carol Baca completed Student Volunteer Ministry Courses at the Celebrity Center in 2005.

References

1. Daunt, Tina (June 8, 2007). "Sheriff under fire, again, after ordering release of Paris Hilton". Boston Herald. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
2. Chinese American Museum
3. Sheriff, D.A. Announce New Jail Early Release Policy
4. Daunt, Tina (June 18, 1999). "Sheriff Offering a Badge and Gun to Celebrities". LA Times. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
5. Daunt, Tina (September 25, 1999). "Sheriff Offering a Badge and Gun to Celebrities". LA Times. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
6. "L.A. Sheriff's Unit Suffers a 2nd Arrest". LA Times. December 2, 1999. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
7. Mel Gibson LA Sheriff PSA on Youtube
8. Did Cops Cover Up Mel Gibson Tirade? CBS News
9. BBC News Report on Mel Gibson’s ‘Outburst’
10. Mel Gibson: The Speed of Scandal by Allison Hope Weiner, New York Times, August 1, 2006
11. "Sheriff Baca: "This Lady Has Severe Problems"". TMZ.com. 2007-06-08. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
12. "Hilton Won't Be in Court". ABC. June 8, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
13. "Judge Orders Paris Hilton Back To Jail". CBS. June 7, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
14. "Judge orders Paris Hilton back to jail". MSNBC. June 8, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
15. Paris Hilton Spends First Night in Medical Ward by Mike Fleeman, People
16. Church Of Scientology Celebrity Centre International Hosts 35th Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre press release of 7 August 2004. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
17. http://www.scientology.org/en_US/news-media/briefing/2004/christmas/ Retrieved on 2007-06-11
18. ABLE - The Association for Better Living and Education International
19. ABLE - The Association for Better Living and Education International
20. See: http://www.truthaboutscientology.com/stats/by-name/c/carol-baca.html]

See also

• Baca Family of New Mexico

External links

• Official biography

• Lee Baca: Scientology's Sheriff

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