Richard Hirschhaut, the Los Angeles regional director of the American Jewish Committee, told JNS on Monday that the AJC group “welcomes” an apology from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, after the department issued a statement referring to the “victims” of the strikes on Iran.
The department, under Robert Luna, the sheriff of Los Angeles County, “has been unwavering in its support and protection of the Jewish community and other vulnerable populations across Los Angeles County,” Hirschhaut said.
“While a mistake was made, it was quickly acknowledged and corrected, with a pledge to review internal protocols to prevent any future recurrence,” he told JNS. “The events of recent weeks demand that we all move forward with a focus upon keeping our communities safe and free from fear and intimidation.”
On Sunday, the day after Washington bombed key Iranian nuclear facilities, the sheriff’s department stated that “our hearts go out to the victims and families impacted by the recent bombings in Iran.”
“While this tragic event occurred overseas, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is closely monitoring the situation alongside our local, state and federal partners,” it said in the since-deleted post.
The department first amended the post by deleting the sentences referencing the “victims” and the “tragic event.” It then removed the whole post and apologized “formally” on Sunday for what it said was an “offensive and inappropriate social media post,” which it said was “unacceptable, made in error and does not reflect the views of Sheriff Robert G. Luna or the department.”
The department added that “as a law enforcement agency, we do not comment on foreign policy or military matters” and that it is launching an “internal review to determine how it was created and published.”
“Steps are being taken to strengthen our social media oversight protocols and ensure that any future communications align with our department’s standards of professionalism, respect and accountability,” it stated.
Jay Town, a former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, wrote to the department on social media asking, “How exactly was Operation Midnight Hammer a ‘tragic event’ exactly?”
“Also, why did you delete this tweet after you edited it?” he wrote. “Finally, when did you decide to become an embarrassment to the badge?”
Alex Villanueva, former Los Angeles County sheriff, wrote that Luna, the current sheriff, needed to apologize and resign.
StopAntisemitism stated that the department “deleted their outrageous post mourning ‘victims’ of the U.S. strike on Iran’s nuclear sites.”
“There were zero casualties. This was not an attack on civilians but a precision strike on the world’s top state sponsor of terror, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” it said. “We hope the investigation yields accountability for this careless and misleading post.”