Former LA sheriff blames 'poisonous ideology' for catastrophic fires

A group of former officials with Los Angeles County blasted the current leadership in an interview with the New York Post, claiming that incompetence and DEI "hysteria" led to the fires that have already claimed dozens of lives and tens of thousands of acres.

The Post spoke with former Sheriff Alex Villanueva, former Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, and retired Commander John Satterfield of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department. All three took aim at weak local leaders whose incompetence has been exacerbated by their devotion to leftist narratives.

"The degree of mismanagement is epic. It’s incompetence married with poisonous ideology," Villanueva said.

'Diversity is great, but ... there comes a point when technical competence and meritocracy are badly needed.'

Cooley, who spent a dozen years as lead prosecutor of L.A. County, beginning in 2000, told the Post he didn't realize how much diversity, equity, and inclusion had infiltrated the Los Angeles Fire Department in recent years.

"It’s like the main thing the fire department leaders were focused on was DEI, not fighting fires. It’s beyond incredible that things were allowed to get this far," Cooley stated.

Satterfield couldn't agree more, claiming that DEI "hysteria" has taken over several city and county agencies. "Every single L.A. City and L.A. County appointment is made with the most extreme left-wing agenda you can imagine," he stated.

"Diversity is great, but not when every single position checks the boxes for diversity. There comes a point when technical competence and meritocracy are badly needed," Satterfield added.

Satterfield explained that deputies are currently suffering the consequences of this fixation on identity politics, pulling 24-hour shifts to assist during the fire crisis "with no relief in sight."

"They are down 30% to 40% at sheriff department’s stations," Satterfield told the Post. "The Board of Supervisors cut 1,281 positions in 2020."

Villanueva, who served as sheriff from 2018 to 2022, claimed that the problem is widespread. "Both the L.A. Sheriff’s Department and the LAPD are missing more than 3,000 cops because of what happened during what I call the ‘Summer of Love’ after George Floyd’s death," he said.

Depleted ranks in law enforcement have been devastating, as the entire L.A. area has been thrown into chaos amid the fires. "You wonder why there’s looting? Why wouldn’t there be? The criminals know, at least up until now, that probably [no penalty or jail time] was going to happen to them," Villanueva said.

"All of this is deliberate. Even the county Board of Supervisors are all about ‘Care first, jail last’ when it comes to criminals."

Meanwhile, Joe Tyler, chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, has kept a low profile, the Post noted, holding just one press conference since the fires broke out more than a week ago. What's more, that lone press conference was held in Sacramento, nearly 400 miles from the blazes.

The outlet called Tyler's office on Tuesday, but a spokesperson was unable to provide Tyler's current whereabouts. The spokesperson was only "pretty sure" he had visited the L.A. areas ravaged by fires since the crisis began.

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