by Cliff Yates
Universal was similar to the jail in that there were a lot of force reports for supervisors. Universal was a little more predictable. Weekdays were mostly quiet, and use of force incidents rare. Most of the force happened on the weekends late at night. So you could get caught up during the week, so when the weekend rolled around, you were ready for the nighttime fun. If force happened during the week, it would be later in the shift after 8 pm. The weekday shifts were usually ten-hour shifts, 4 pm to 2 am, or 5 pm to 3 am. A few days a week there would be two sergeants on. So, there was always an opportunity to catch up on the paperwork.
Things were going smoothly at Universal, and I was having as much fun as a sergeant as I did as a deputy. I got a call from a friend of mine who I had worked with at Universal who was now a Lieutenant. He asked me if I wanted to be a Lieutenant. I hadn't thought of it, but it was one of those calls that I thought I better say yes to. He said that an executive who had worked Region Two with us wanted to make sure that the former Lynwood deputies had equal opportunities to promote. He believed most of the deputies with a lot of field experience had little administrative knowledge, and this hurt their chances of promotion. So, he wanted to make sure those deputies had a chance to work an administrative position to be on equal footing with the deputies whose career was heavily weighted in administrative jobs.
When I told my friend that I was interested in promoting to Lieutenant, he said that I should be prepared for a transfer to an administrative spot, most likely recruitment or backgrounds. A few months later, shy of two years at Universal, I was transferred to personnel division as a sergeant in recruitment.
PERSONNEL DIVISION
I headed up a team of recruitment deputies at a time when recruitment was in high gear. The department had been given something in the neighborhood of 4 million dollars toward a nationwide recruitment campaign. We had a lieutenant, two sergeants, and about fifteen deputies. One sergeant was responsible for media and buying advertisement with part of our budget. I was responsible for recruitment from events and holding satellite tests. We had billboards all over the country. We had a big billboard as you drove into Las Vegas. We were on scrolling screens on busses in Chicago, New York, and Atlanta. We were on scrolling screens in baseball stadiums all over the country. We had ads on the sides of busses. The goal in the personnel division was to hire 1,000 deputies a year for three to four years. We were down about 2,000 deputies, and we lose about 500 deputies a year to attrition. Part of that plan involved recruitment advertising. Part of it was conducting tests all over the country. Testing involved the civilian division of personnel responsible for testing. They had to conduct the testing in compliance with civil service and California P.O.S.T. Peace Officer Standards of Training. We would send recruiters to colleges to give talks to upcoming graduates who would be entering the job force. We would follow up those talks with testing at the colleges. We had different strategies of recruitment depending on what community we were recruiting from. We sent a team of deputies and civilian testing employees to the gay and lesbian police Olympics in Chicago. We had gay deputies go and represent the department at these events. The department went to great lengths to make sure the demographics of the department reflected the demographics of Los Angeles County.
The other division in personnel involved in the major hiring process was the background division. They had a lieutenant, several sergeants, and about fifteen to twenty background investigators. The two divisions didn't work too closely, and it appeared to be by design. Someone called me and wanted to know what the current policy was regarding marijuana use. They wanted to know based on their recent use if they should bother to apply or not. I called a background sergeant and asked him. He told me he couldn't give me that information. He said it changes all the time, and they believe if they give out the current standard, applicants will lie to conform to the policy and avoid being disqualified or have to wait in going forward with their application. In retrospect, it makes sense. At the time it ticked me off.
We were recruiting at places that didn't make any sense to me. Recruitments goal was to test so many people within a certain time. The more we could test, the better. I would not have been surprised to see us testing people outside prison, as inmates were released just to get our numbers up. When I questioned the caliber of people we were testing, I was told that our job was to recruit and test, and it was Background’s job to determine their qualifications. Common sense started getting in the way of my success at personnel. It wasn't as simple as looking for the best-qualified applicants.
After talking with two of the current academy classes, the Sheriff walked into recruitment spouting, "Where are my blacks! I want more blacks!" He was very upset about the lack of black representation in the academy classes. I was a little miffed about that. I don't know how much more we could do. I think eight or nine of my fifteen or so recruiters were black. We were heavily recruiting in the black community. We were constantly under pressure to test more and more people. Everyone was constantly aware of the numbers. I liked all the deputies on my recruitment team, and I think we were doing a great job. My decisions were constantly being undermined, which hampered my effectiveness as a leader.
Two of my black deputies called me after being assigned a recruitment event. It was advertised as a battle of the bands in Compton. The deputies called me and said, "Sarge, we researched this event coming up, and it is basically a group of gang members jamming. It's a waste of our time to go and set up a recruitment booth at this event." I told them I couldn't agree more and told them to cancel that event.
A lieutenant called me later and told me that he had advised my deputies that they were back on that event. He told me, "Cliff, if the Chief found out we canceled a black event, he would have my head. Never cancel a black event no matter what it is."
Sometimes I would go home shaking my head. My team was getting stressed out. I did my best to send the message that if we didn't show up for work the next day, nobody would die. As opposed to working the field, where if we don't show up or do the right thing people die. I don't think the powers above me liked that I was sending that message in an attempt to get them to relax so they could perform better.
Some good things did happen while I was working recruitment. One night I was home, and I got a phone call just before midnight. The voice on the other end said he was the Sheriff's driver. He went on to say, "I don't know who you are, but Norm Crosby the comedian was scheduled to perform at the Sheriff's luncheon tomorrow, and he canceled. The Sheriff said to call you, and you would take his place." I told him that I would be there. He told me that I would be sitting on the dais with the Sheriff, his wife, and two other executives. I had a recruitment meeting scheduled that day in West Hollywood, so I wasn't supposed to be at the Sheriff's luncheon. I arrived at the Sheriff's Luncheon, which is an annual event. The Sheriff had just been reelected the previous week.
The ballroom was filled with over 800 members of the department. I loved seeing the looks on everyone’s faces as they looked up at the raised dais from their tables. They see the Sheriff, his wife, a couple of executives, and Cliff Yates. I know they were thinking, What is he doing there?
I had been racking my brain most of the night trying to come up with a great opening line, but nothing came to mind at the time. It wasn't until I was introduced and stepped to the podium that a brilliant line came to me. I said, "We’re in California and we have some terrible tragedies, fires, earthquakes, flooding, but last week we had a landslide that was fantastic; the reelection of Sheriff Baca!" And everyone in the ballroom jumped to their feet and gave the Sheriff a ten-minute standing ovation. The Under Sheriff leaned over and whispered to me, "That was great." I told a few jokes and then introduced the Sheriff. I have to say that was one of my great moments.
More and more, I did not fit in with this assignment. We sent a big contingency of deputies that would be assigned to the Pomona Fair. For years they had a recruitment video that would be on a loop at the
booth. It was really inspiring. It showed all aspects of the Sheriff's Department and all the exciting jobs. It had shots of the beach team, deputies repelling out of helicopters, K9 officers in action. Deputies riding quads down the beach. Search and rescue teams repelling in the canyons rescuing stranded hikers. The harbor patrol and dive team, all to the soundtrack of "I Love L.A." by Randy Newman.
Another sergeant told me not to send that video, that there was a deputy in the video the Sheriff never wanted to see again. I had one of my deputies bring me the video. The deputy in question was on screen for about six seconds. I'm thinking because of those six seconds we are not going to show the video. I told my deputies that I was making the decision to show the video. I told them to take it to the fair. A mole found out about this and told on me. A lieutenant called me and said, "Cliff, I took the video; it can't be shown anywhere that the Sheriff might see it." As far as I know, the video was never seen again. Another decision overturned. I worked in patrol for over twenty years, and I don't even remember one of my decisions being overturned. Here I was in recruitment, and I was being undermined on a daily basis.
We were testing in the Santa Clarita Valley. We were short on deputies conducting interviews after the written test, so I filled in to help out. I was told you needed two deputies interviewing to disqualify someone, but one deputy interviews were conducted when we were short. And if there was a problem with the candidate, they would be invited back for a second interview with two interviewers.
I was conducting an interview by myself and asking the questions in the order they are supposed to be asked. When I asked the candidate, who appeared to be Middle Eastern, about working weekends, he said, "No, I can't under any circumstances work Sundays." I asked him about working with women, and he said, "No, I would never work with a woman." There was one more question that he gave a ridiculous answer to, something like he could never shoot anyone. I told the applicant that this was not the job for him and that he was disqualified.
I turned his folder over to the civilian employees who conducted the written test, and they said, "Sergeant Yates, you can't disqualify an applicant on your own. It takes two interviewers."
I was furious, and I said, "I'm a sergeant on the department. If I can't disqualify an applicant for these answers, what good am I?"
There's a line from Clint Eastwood in one of his Dirty Harry movies. "Personnel, personnel is for assholes." I couldn't agree more. Personnel was not for me. My success was all in my hands, and I alone am responsible for not succeeding. My direct lieutenant was in support of me all the way and tried his best to help me succeed. And he also arranged several interviews with other special units. But I sensed the powers who gave me the opportunity to use my personnel assignment as a stepping stone to promotion were not happy. So, I was promptly transferred back to Men's Central Jail. Most of the rumors were that I was kicked out of personnel. Which really wasn't the case. But I was happy to be out of there.
MEN'S CENTRAL JAIL 2
I WAS MOVED out of personnel at the same time as several other supervisors. It was looked upon by most that we all got rolled up and kicked out of personnel. I knew that wasn’t the case for me; my lieutenant had arranged for me to interview at several specialized units. But now that I write this and relive the memory, maybe that was all smoke and mirrors, and I actually was booted out with the rest.
I was feeling a little down after being transferred. Had I gone to a patrol or a specialized unit assignment, it would have felt more like a lateral move. I always hated working in custody and saw this as a move backward. These are the times when personal development skills and the ability to change your state come into play. Some other sergeants and I were discussing the condition of the jail gym, which in its heyday would have been considered state of the art for a jail facility. It had a sauna that wasn’t working. Two treadmills and one wasn’t working. When I first came to the Sheriff’s Department and was assigned to Men’s Central Jail in 1984, I remember what a great looking gym it was. Almost 25 years later and nothing had been improved, and little maintenance seemed to have been done.
Somebody mentioned that there was a gym fund with over $7,000 in it. We checked with the civilian employee who was in charge of the gym and the fund. He confirmed the existence of the fund, and the money was still in the account. I gathered a few of my fellow sergeants and some deputies, and we formed a gym committee. I thought of this as kind of a mastermind group. We had a mission to renew the gym. I will say it was my initial idea that we could redo the gym and make it great again, but it was the rest of the group who came through with ideas and resources that made things start to happen.
We went through the gym and decided what we wanted and what we saw that needed to be fixed. We came up with a goal to raise enough money so that the gym committee had $12,000 to work with. I produced a comedy show to raise money. We had several jail barbecues to raise money, and in a few short months, we exceeded our $12,000 goal. We had one deputy who was a real wealth of knowledge, skill, and resources. He had worked in construction. He had access to a tractor-trailer, and he arranged to remove all the equipment and have it powder coated for minimal cost. While most of the equipment was out of the gym, we had a new floor installed. This was nice flooring, from what I remember it ate up about $6,000 of our budget. My go-to deputy used to install mirrors. We bought mirrors that he installed on the walls of the gym.
One of my fellow sergeants while working the Compton station made a friend who sold exercise equipment wholesale out of a big warehouse in south L.A. We went down there and picked out five or six treadmills and some weight equipment. The guy gave us all the treadmills and equipment for about $1500.00. The county agreed to come in and replace all the ceiling tiles. The sauna was repaired by replacing some part that I think cost about $100. It could have been replaced years before.
The gym looked so amazing when it was finished that we had a grand opening of the “New” gym. We had a big ceremony, and the Undersheriff came to cut the ribbon to the new gym. We really made a difference that people are still enjoying today. That was a highlight and a great moment of my second sergeant tour of Central Jail.
I was the supervisor on the 3000-floor one-midnight shift. It seemed like a night like any other night. The deputies were required to walk the rows and document their walks. One row on our floor had a dangerous and high-security row of cells. The front of these cells were covered in plexiglass and then a narrow row to walk in, and then a row of bars, with a walkway on the outside of the bars. The deputies were required to make a walk every half hour. There was a paper log of the checks, and also a paper on the wall at the end of the row with a bar code. The jail was going to a new system where the deputies would scan the bar code on their walks to record the time and location. At the time the walks were also still being documented in a logbook.
Although not required to do so, I, as a supervisor, made a walk down the row and recorded it in the log. Later that morning, an inmate was discovered hanging in his cell. Deputies cut him down from the sheet he was hanging from and called for medical personnel. They tried to revive him, but he was pronounced dead. When the crime scene was established and homicide detectives were called, deputies came forward and reported to another sergeant that they had lied about doing their security checks. They had a duplicate of the barcode at the end of the row and scanned the paper with the duplicate barcode without actually making the security check.
It was later discovered that the deputy assigned to the module where the inmate hung himself had signed out a patrol car to make a meal run. He came back and then went to the gym for about two hours. The inmate who died had attacked deputies and had been evaluated as needing a psychological evaluation. Because of a backup in the psych unit, he had been waiting to see a psychologist when he committed suicide. This suicide was prominent in the news that joined a long line of bad press regarding conditions in the jail. When the board of supervisors heard of the case, they put pressure on the depart
ment to make sure that a supervisor on the floor is severely punished as an example. That was me. The department imposed some severe discipline on me.
One thing was for sure; I needed to get out of Men’s Central Jail. This was going to be tough as transfers were usually held up for personnel with pending discipline. Luckily I had made some good relationships with the right commander and the Captain of Transit Services Bureau (TSB).
I was able to secure a transfer and get out of jail. I was excited about my new assignment.
LAST ASSIGNMENT
Sometime in 2010, I transferred into the Transit Services Bureau. This turned out to be a great assignment. Not only was it a patrol assignment, but it also had a great amount of area with little restriction. The TSB had enforcement responsibilities for all the light rail and subway lines in the county. And also the bus lines and Metro Link trains. This gave us patrol duties throughout the City of Los Angeles, and numerous points, north, east, west, and south. We had the blue line which ran above ground from south L.A. To downtown where it went underground to Union Station. We had the redline subway which ran underground from Union Station to North Hollywood. We had the gold line which ran above ground from Union Station to Pasadena. We had the green line which ran above ground Norwalk to the west side, not quite to LAX. The Metrolink line went from Union Station north to Acton, east to San Bernardino, south to San Diego.