Update, 7 p.m.: Kuehl released a statement on the search of her home and investigation, saying:

“It has continued to be plagued with wrongful death and excessive force lawsuits which have to be paid for with taxpayer money, and has run up a ballooning deficit. Current law gives the Supervisors limited legal authority over the Sheriff.

“Make no mistake. Today’s search warrant is not motivated by a desire to get to the bottom of a Metro contract that dates from 7 yrs ago. The process by which this contract was awarded never involved me & the first I knew of it was an invite to a Metro press conf announcing it.

“The basis of this search was questionable and will be investigated. This morning’s storming of my home by deputies with bulletproof vests & tactical gear was an effort to harass, intimidate & retaliate against a public figure who has been an outspoken critic of Alex Villanueva.

“I am not the only such critic, and other courageous County leaders have also been the targets of this Sheriff’s vindictiveness.

“As a Supervisor, I have insisted that the Sheriff take steps to reduce deputy-involved shootings, and meaningfully address the existence of:

“Known gangs in his department, cooperate with the Office of the Inspector General in its investigations, comply with subpoenas issued to elicit needed information about the department, appear before the County’s Civilian Oversight Commission to address community concerns, and like the heads of more than 30 other County departments, to operate within a balanced budget.

“Today’s early morning search of my home was a thuggish attempt to intimidate and silence not just me but many other public servants who are working hard to rebuild the trust between law enforcement and the communities it is supposed to serve.”

Start Of Original Story

Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl had her home searched by authorities in a mulit-property warrant connected to a public corruption investigation.

Both the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Dept. (LASD) and federal agencies served the warrant on Kuehl’s Santa Monica home at around 7 a.m., Wednesday, as well as the home of LA County Civilian Oversight Commissioner Patti Giggans, the L.A. County Hall of Administration, the Peace Over Violence Headquarters, and L.A. Metro Headquarters.

The warrant allowed officials to search any of Kuehl’s rooms, attics, safes, garages, storage rooms, vehicles on or nearby the property, out-buildings and even trash containers.

LASD released a statement on the raids, saying they were part of an ongoing public corruption investigation.

“Today, detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Public Corruption Unit served search warrants at multiple locations in connection with an ongoing public corruption investigation,” LASD said in a statement. “Those locations included the homes of Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl and Los Angeles County Civilian Oversight Commissioner Patricia ‘Patti’ Giggans. Also searched were offices located at: Los Angeles County Hall of Administration, Peace Over Violence Headquarters, and LA Metro Headquarters. The investigation has been shared with a federal agency and they continue to monitor.”

Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin commented on the raids, calling them a “politically motivated witch hunt” led by Sheriff Alex Villanueva.

“Sheila Kuehl is a public official of the highest integrity and of remarkable accomplishment,” Bonin said. “Alex Villanueva runs a department notorious for violence, scandal and civil rights violations. He is scared of civilian oversight, defies civilian oversight and is abusing his power to get revenge on those who exercise civilian oversight.”

Villanueva has had several battles with the supervisors, most recently with the governing body attempting to gain the power to remove sheriffs, but it is not clear if Villanueva is involved in the investigation.

L.A. Weekly reached out to Kuehl representatives and a statement on the search was not readily available.

In an on-location interview with KTTV, Kuehl called the investigation “bogus,” and attributed it to a possibly “disgruntled” former Metro employee who previously accused the supervisor of having knowledge of a no-bid contract worth up to $494,000, falling just short of the $500,000 threshold for a Metro vote.

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LADA Statement

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon made a statement on the allegations made in the investigation, saying:

“The allegation was investigated by LASD and submitted for filing consideration in September 2021. We reviewed the case and determined that the state of the evidence at that time did not prove criminal conduct beyond a reasonable doubt. LASD indicated that they would continue to investigate. We have not had additional contact on the matter and were not consulted or aware of the search warrants that were served today. In this case, because we did not review the warrant beforehand, we do not intend to defend it if challenged in court.”

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