LOS ANGELES — It’s been decades since Robert Luna lived in a small, one-bedroom apartment in East Los Angeles, but coming back brought a flood of memories from growing up during the Chicano Moratorium.
“That’s when I was a little guy,” he said. “Some of my memories are from the Chicano riots.”
Long before Luna rose through the ranks to become Chief of Police in Long Beach, he grew up in an East LA neighborhood patrolled by the LA County Sheriff’s Department who shaped his earliest views of law enforcement.
Now, Luna is running to lead the department, hoping to unseat Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who is up for reelection.
“I remember a sheriff’s deputy stopping my father and not treating him well. Those kinds of things stick with you, but at the same time, I always had an admiration, a level of respect, for that uniform.”
Concerns over the East LA Sheriff’s station continue today. Eight deputies are suing LA County alleging a violent tattooed deputy gang called the “Banditos” ran the station.
Last year, the station’s captain told Spectrum News 1 his deputies are from the community and have a vested interest in serving the public.
“I can assure you that there is no Bandito-alleged deputies working patrol in East LA right now,” said Captain Rick Mejia.
To make it through the primary, Luna will have to differentiate himself from a crowded field and overcome scandals from his time running the Long Beach Police Department, which is about a tenth of the size of the LASD. A former helicopter pilot, Michael Colbert, is suing over allegations he faced blatant racism every day from his colleagues.
“Our police department certainly has a culture when you speak out against the department or against certain individuals. You will be the one who is focused on,” said Colbert.
"When I saw that lawsuit, although I don’t know the details because it happened right before I left, it hurt," said Luna. "It hurts because I made such an effort to diversify the department."
At Ruben Salazar Park, Luna said his desire to reform the LASD started in this community, to heal the divisions where he grew up.