LASD reports improved force metrics to supervisors but monitors and officials warn gaps remain under ROSA

Assistant Sheriff Paula Tokar told the Board of Supervisors on April 15 that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) has increased compliance with the ROSA settlement agreement and reduced some types of force since formal tracking began. The department said it improved compliance from 78 provisions to 81 and reported a long-term decline in overall force incidents and specific declines in serious uses of force.

The presentation included several concrete measures of change: a 35.9% decrease in overall force incidents since 2018 (with a modest uptick in 2024), a 57% decrease in “category 2” uses of force between 2018 and 2024 in basin facilities, and a 60% decrease in tracked head strikes since 2021. Tokar described operational fixes linked to the department’s compliance shortfall on provision 17.5, saying in the meeting, “We will no longer be doing [the] seated position as a recovery position and we will be putting everyone on their side as required by the provisions.” She also highlighted the rollout of body scanners, a pilot eForce application to speed force-package processing, and progress standing up CFIT (10 of 12 budgeted sergeants filled).

Monitors and board members said the data show some real improvement — particularly in investigative quality — but warned important gaps remain between what the monitors find and what the department reports. Robert Houston of the monitoring team said the CFIT work has yielded “more detailed analysis and more timeliness of investigation” and recommended that the process for reviewing completed investigations be made more objective and timely. Monitors noted CFIT recommended 37 administrative investigations and that the department opened administrative investigations in 19 of those cases.

Supervisors pressed the department on staffing, overtime and accountability. Supervisor Mitchell said the county can’t lose sight of ROSA’s purpose, telling the department, “every time I hear the term head strike, it just sends a chill down my back,” and pressing officials on why the monitors and the department sometimes reach different conclusions on compliance. Tokar and other LASD leaders said the difference stems partly from how small samples of cases are selected, differing interpretations of the facts of particular incidents, and evolving policy and training after changes in leadership and policy.

Board members and monitors also discussed the new CFIT unit’s role in centralizing force investigations. Monitors said investigative quality has improved since CFIT was created, but they urged the department to ensure CFIT’s recommendations lead to a greater proportion of administrative investigations when appropriate, and to strengthen the objectivity of command-level review. LASD described internal changes to increase objectivity — for example, routing disagreements about administrative-investigation recommendations up to the division chief rather than stopping at the captain.

What’s next: LASD said body-worn camera rollout and tablets for custody will take time — training was expected in May, and monitors noted new evidence will not be reflected in public reports for more than a year because the monitors review cases with a lag. The Board’s public record shows the department’s compliance presentation was received and filed by the board during the meeting.

Provenance: The presentation and the exchange with monitors and supervisors were given during the ROSA compliance item on April 15, 2025, and appear in the public transcript for the Board meeting.

Ending: Monitors, LASD and supervisors agreed there has been measurable progress on some ROSA provisions and investigative quality. But monitors and several supervisors urged continued focus on objective review, timely accountability, staffing, and the full rollout of body-worn cameras and other technology before declaring the settlement fully implemented.