Robert G. Luna
Candidate for Sheriff, Los Angeles County
Robert G. Luna grew up in Santa Fe Springs and graduated from Santa Fe High School in 1984. He attended Long Beach City College, where a police sergeant he met inspired him toward a law-enforcement career, and later earned a master's degree in public administration from Cal State Long Beach. He joined the Long Beach Police Department in 1985 as a patrol officer, served on its SWAT team, and was promoted to deputy chief in 2006. In November 2014 he became LBPD's 26th police chief, succeeding Jim McDonnell, who had moved to become LA County Sheriff. During the May 2020 protests following George Floyd's murder, Luna's handling of demonstrations drew criticism from both business owners and officers; shortly afterward, LBPD banned carotid restraint holds, which Luna called "the first of many steps" toward building community trust. He retired from LBPD in December 2021 after 36 years with the department. Luna entered the 2022 LA County Sheriff's race in December 2021, finished second in the primary, and advanced to a runoff against incumbent Alex Villanueva, winning the general election with the backing of seven defeated primary rivals; Villanueva conceded on November 15, 2022, and Luna was sworn in as the county's 34th sheriff on December 5, 2022. As sheriff, he created a Crime Strategy Unit and an Office of Constitutional Policing, established a policy banning law-enforcement "gangs," began publishing public dashboards on crime statistics, use-of-force incidents, taser deployments, stops, and personnel complaints, deployed body-worn cameras in the county jails for the first time, and secured funding for 20 new inmate-transport buses and additional academy classes. He is now seeking a second term, having advanced to the November 2026 general-election runoff against Villanueva after leading the June 2 primary.
Positions in brief
Luna points to falling violent crime and use-of-force numbers, new transparency dashboards and an Office of Constitutional Policing, and jail-modernization steps including body-worn cameras and new transport buses, while saying the department complies fully with California's sanctuary law and transfers only judicially-warranted individuals to ICE.
Luna highlights that violent crime and homicides have fallen every year in areas patrolled by LASD, with homicides down 25% and uses of force down 25% since 2023. On accountability, he created an Office of Constitutional Policing, banned department "gangs" through policy, and for the first time posted public data on uses of force, taser deployments, stops, and personnel complaints. He has increased funding for academy classes, equipment and dispatch-system upgrades, secured 20 new inmate-transport buses, and put body-worn cameras in county jails for the first time — steps he also ties to improved jail and consent-decree/settlement compliance. On immigration, Luna says the department fully complies with California's SB 54 sanctuary law and the county's 2020 policy limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities: it does not honor civil ICE detainer requests (he says it received 995 such requests in 2024 and complied with none) and does not notify ICE of release dates, but will transfer someone already in custody to ICE if presented with a federal judicial warrant signed by a judge — a step he says was used 20 times between May and June, mostly for people held on serious or violent charges.
On the issues
- Public Safety & Policing
Created the Office of Constitutional Policing, banned law-enforcement "gangs" by department policy, and began publicly posting data on uses of force, taser deployments, stops, and personnel complaints.
“a new policy banning law enforcement gangs”
Source → - Public Safety & Policing
Says uses of force by deputies have fallen every year of his tenure, down 25% since 2023, alongside declines in violent crime.
“Uses of force have decreased each year during my tenure as Sheriff, and are down 25% since 2023”
Source → - Criminal Justice & Courts
Deployed body-worn cameras in county jails for the first time, secured funding for 20 new inmate-transport buses, and says jail and settlement/consent-decree compliance has improved under his administration.
“20 new inmate transport buses”
Source → - Immigration & Border
Says the department fully complies with California's SB 54 sanctuary law and county policy, does not honor civil ICE detainer requests, and will only transfer someone already in custody to ICE when presented with a federal judicial warrant signed by a judge.
“We will only transfer an individual into ICE custody if we are presented with a federal judicial warrant that's signed by a judge.”
Source →
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