Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva rejected a recommendation by a county oversight panel that his top aide be disciplined for using a Japanese racial slur toward employees of color, according to law enforcement sources.
The County Equity Oversight Panel last fall found Undersheriff Tim Murakami had violated the department’s policy against discrimination and recommended the Sheriff’s Department take “appropriate administrative action” against him, according to an internal record of the case reviewed by The Times. The panel based its findings on a review of interviews sheriff’s investigators conducted with two law enforcement officers who said they heard Murakami use the slur, which is considered to be the Japanese version of the N-word.
Villanueva, however, determined there was insufficient evidence to support the panel’s findings and opted instead to close the investigation into Murakami by concluding that the allegations against him were unresolved, the sources said. Villanueva did not respond to questions about why he diverged from the panel’s recommendation. A spokesman for the department declined to comment, citing a lawsuit filed by a subordinate to Murakami who alleges he was the target of his discrimination.
In an interview with The Times last month, Murakami, who is Japanese American, denied using the slur toward subordinates. He said he was not notified of the panel’s findings nor disciplined by Villanueva. He said he had heard the term and used it as a child, but now, “it’s just not part of my vocabulary.” He said he did not know if he considers the word derogatory.
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