Lee Baca

Who is Lee Baca?

Leroy David "Lee" Baca was the Sheriff of Los Angeles County, California.

Baca was elected Los Angeles County's 30th sheriff against his mentor Sherman Block, who had died in office days prior to the election but remained on the ballot. He was sworn in on December 7, 1998.

He was re-elected to a fourth term in 2010. He has been criticized for proposing a half-percent sales tax increase in 2004 to hire more deputy sheriffs, placing friends on the payroll, taking of gifts and for releasing inmates from the Los Angeles County Jail.

On January 7, 2014 Baca announced that he would retire at the end of January 2014 before the expiration of his term.