Calls Mount for L.A.’s Chief Probation Officer to Resign

The L.A. County Board of Supervisors and the county’s Probation Oversight Commission want Chief Probation Officer Adolfo Gonzales gone. A majority of both bodies called for his resignation Friday, along with that of his chief deputy, following a disturbing incident at a juvenile facility.

Video of the October 2020 incident shows five probation officers tackling a 17-year-old and then holding him by the neck while another officer grabs his legs and bends them backwards. The boy begins screaming for his mother. 

Although an internal disciplinary board called for that officer to be fired, Gonzales overrode the decision. The officer who bent the boy’s legs is still working at the same facility as a supervisor.

The vote by the county’s Probation Oversight Commission last week was 5-2 in favor of Gonzales' ouster. All county supervisors except Hilda Solis have called for him to step down. If he does not leave voluntarily, they could vote to fire him. In the meantime, the county’s district attorney has launched a criminal investigation into the 2020 incident. 

Gonzales has led the county Probation Department since Feb. 1, 2021. He previously held the same job in San Diego County.