As of August 10th, former PPOA president Lt. Nancy Escobedo has finally landed her Captain’s bars, and, in a move dripping with conflict-of-interest, will take command of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau (SIB), according to department memos.
For years, Escobedo was the perennial “thanks but no thanks” in Captain interviews, repeatedly failing to win over contract city managers. But suddenly, right in the middle of a heated election season with former Sheriff Alex Villanueva back in the race, the SIB post quietly disappeared from the public vacancy list. No competition. No outside interviews. Just a cleared runway for Escobedo to glide right into one of the most politically sensitive commands in LASD.
If she couldn’t convince city managers she was Captain material, how is she suddenly the perfect choice to lead the department’s public voice on deputy-involved shootings, high-profile lawsuits, catastrophic events, and every press statement that can make or break LASD’s credibility?
The answer might just sit in the Sheriff’s executive office.
Escobedo’s husband Sergio, is Sheriff Luna’s Chief of Staff, a position with direct influence over Captain and above assignments.
And here’s where it goes from suspicious to potentially downright policy-violating. The LASD’s own nepotism policy, Policy 3-02/010.05, couldn’t be clearer: employees in a Qualified Personal Relationship (QPR) with someone in a position of interrelated trust or authority must not be in roles where that relationship can “impair the Department’s system of checks and balances” or create a “real or apparent conflict of interest, favoritism, or preferential treatment.” The policy explicitly seeks to prevent the kind of backroom promotion optics now on full display.
Escobedo’s promotion is an obscene example of nepotism so shameless it could make even former Undersheriff-turned-convicted-felon Paul Tanaka blush.
With this appointment, Luna is dragging LASD back into the cigar-smoke-filled backrooms of political patronage, where loyalty supersedes competence.
Escobedo’s climb is textbook politics over merit. As POPA president, she pivoted from working under Sheriff Villanueva to backing Eli Vera’s campaign — even steering union money toward his PAC. Her résumé also includes serving as an aide to former Sheriff Jim McDonnell, LASD’s notorious “shadow sheriff.” Colleagues say she’s been spotted at multiple Luna fundraisers and campaign dinners, technically legal off-duty, but it’s still an obvious “lobbying for promotion” look.
Under Sheriff Luna’s administration, it’s not what you know – it’s who you know. Department policy is meaningless, and the moral of the story is: merit is dead, and nepotism runs the show.
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