LBPD Chief Robert Luna with Mayor Robert Garcia (left). File photo.
LBPD Chief Robert Luna with Mayor Robert Garcia (left). File photo.

Former Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna was sworn in today as Los Angeles County’s next sheriff, capping a hard-fought campaign that led to the ouster of incumbent Alex Villanueva.

“Today I stand before you wearing this brand-new uniform—and now I have a badge to go with it—with an incredible amount of respect, because it’s the same uniform worn by those deputies who patrolled the neighborhood where I grew up,” Luna said, adding that when he played cops and robbers with other children, he always wanted to play the cop.

Saturday’s ceremony at the county Hall of Administration in downtown Los Angeles was attended by Luna’s family, current and former city and police officials from Long Beach and LA County officials including four of the five county supervisors, with only Holly Mitchell absent.

Luna promised to be open to different approaches to tackle what he acknowledged was a rising tide of crime in the county.

“There can be no sacred cows,” Luna said.

He said the sheriff’s department has succeeded over the years “because it has never been afraid to innovate. … So we must look at policies sand strategies that have succeeded in other places and not be afraid to bring them here.”

Luna implored the public to defend “good policing,” while at the same time recognizing the need to hold law enforcement accountable.

“But even as we make mistakes, we can and we must keep the public trust,” he said.

Before Luna was sworn in, outgoing Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, who was elected to Congress earlier this month, spoke on behalf of his longtime colleague, praising his handling of civil unrest that followed the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020, along with Luna’s character.

“Robert’s core values are rooted in collaboration, in strength, and in kindness,” Garcia said. “… Luna is going to be one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet.”

Luna’s first official day on the job will be Monday. The East Los Angeles native spent 36 years with the Long Beach Police Department, becoming chief in 2014.

He has a master’s degree in public administration from Cal State Long Beach, and lives in that city with his wife, with whom he has two adult children.

His victory in the Nov. 8 election marked only the second time in roughly a century that an incumbent lost a re-election bid. The first time occurred four years ago when Villanueva defeated then-Sheriff Jim McDonnell.

Villanueva concedes; ex-LBPD Chief Robert Luna to become new LA County sheriff