Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva criticized the county’s recommended $38.6 billion budget for the 2022–23 fiscal year, claiming its Board of Supervisors is “defunding the police” by re-allocating the sheriff’s department’s funds to alternative programs.
In a press conference on April 20, Villaneuva said he decided to host his own press conference because the county’s Board of Supervisors allows him only three minutes to speak during the official budget presentation at the April 19 board meeting.