Sandra Figueroa-Villa is a former member of the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners, the five-member appointed body that oversees the Los Angeles Police Department. She has been described as "a key leader in the Latino community" in Los Angeles.[1]

Sandra Figueroa-Villa
Born
Los Angeles, California
EducationCalifornia State University at Los Angeles
OccupationNon-profit director
EmployerEl Centro del Pueblo
Board member ofLos Angeles Board of Police Commissioners
SpouseJesus Villa

Biography

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Figueroa-Villa was born and raised in South Los Angeles and graduated from Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights and California State University at Los Angeles.[2]

She spent 40 years working in the non-profit sector, including as executive director since 1980 of El Centro del Pueblo, which describes itself as "a non-profit community service agency for the purpose of alleviating and mitigating the negative affects of gang violence."[3]

In 2013, she was appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti to the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners.

In 2017, she voted in favor of a controversial LAPD pilot program to use unarmed drones in a limited capacity during high-risk tactical situations.[4]

Figueroa-Villa is a member of the Cal State LA President's Council.[5]

Controversy

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In August 2019, an investigative report published by the Los Angeles Times said that Figueroa-Villa failed to disclose that her nonprofit group received millions of dollars in contracts from the city to work with the police on gang initiatives, as well as a $7,500 donation from PredPol, a technology firm with ties to the LAPD that developed a controversial software program to predict where and when crimes were likely to occur over the next 12 hours.[6][7][8]

References

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  1. ^ "LAPD Commissioner Sandra Figueroa-Villa failed to disclose income from city contracts". Los Angeles Times. 2019-08-30. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  2. ^ "Figueroa-Villa, Sandra - Los Angeles Police Department". Los Angeles Police Department. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  3. ^ "Mission & History". El Centro Del Pueblo. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  4. ^ "LAPD Board Approves Controversial Drone Program". Student News Daily. 2017-10-18. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  5. ^ "President's Council". Cal State LA. 2017-10-25. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  6. ^ "LAPD Commissioner Sandra Figueroa-Villa failed to disclose income from city contracts". Los Angeles Times. 2019-08-30. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  7. ^ "Los Angeles Police Commissioner Failed to Disclose Income From City Contracts: Records". KTLA. 2019-08-30. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  8. ^ "LAPD pioneered predicting crime with data. Many police don't think it works". Los Angeles Times. 2019-07-03. Retrieved 2019-08-30.