The county’s inspector general claimed the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department blocked efforts to investigate misconduct and hold the department accountable in an open letter announcing his retirement Tuesday, Dec. 9.

Max Huntsman has led the Office of Inspector General since it was created in 2013 as a watchdog for the Sheriff’s Department, which has faced accusations of deputy misconduct and excessive use of force.

Under former Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who served from 2018 to 2022, Huntsman said the Sheriff’s Department used its power to take on dissenters, including opening an investigation into former County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. After Villanueva was voted out of office, Huntsman said, the Sheriff’s Department wouldn’t give him records related to improper surveillance, stallin

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