After release of officer photos, emails show LAPD union leaned on chief to act

The day after an activist group published the photos and names of thousands of Los Angeles police officers in March, a top police union official emailed LAPD Chief Michel Moore and warned that the department’s initial response was not strong enough for the rank and file’s liking. Jerretta Sandoz, vice president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, wrote Moore to say that although the publication of the officer photos hadn’t broken any laws according to the union’s legal team, it nevertheless “caused extreme concern.” “Silence only flames the already lit fire,” Sandoz wrote in the March 18 email to Moore, which was obtained by The Times through a public records request. California LAPD police union sues Chief Moore, wants images of undercover officers taken offline LAPD union sues the chief to prompt him to get undercover officer photos off the web, and wants the activist website Watching the Watchers taken down until the city determines which images should be excluded The disclosure spawned several other legal challenges. In a response to an email inquiry from The Times, Moore said that when he “learned of the release of photos of our people and that it inadvertently included individuals working confidential and sensitive assignments, I was similarly concerned as were many of our people.” Moore wrote that he ordered an investigation into “how the release occurred and who was involved.” “Additionally, I communicated with our command officers and as I recall issued a message from our Department Operations Center to our personnel expressing my concerns and what steps we were taking,” Moore said. There are even some of your Captains having officers call the lappl.” She pointed out that the department sends out “many” messages to officers on a daily basis and that “it’s our hopes that the Department communicates to the rank and file what has happened, what can be done if anything, what’s next for undercover officers, etc.” While it’s not uncommon for union officials and LAPD brass to communicate about department operations and officer concerns, a source familiar with LAPD affairs who is not authorized to speak publicly said more serious matters are typically followed up in writing in a formal letter from the union.