The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has repeatedly failed to follow its own rules for issuing concealed weapon permits, the state auditor concluded in a report released in late December.
LA County Sheriff Jim McDonnell disputed some of the key findings of the audit, saying state officials misinterpreted the policy, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The department policy requires applicants to provide “convincing evidence” of a “clear and present danger to life or of great bodily harm” to get a license, but the audit found the department issued 24 licenses during the last few years without sufficient evidence.
Most of the 197 active licenses in the county as of August went to current or former law enforcement officers, judges and prosecutors, the audit found. The lieutenant in charge of reviewing applications told auditors that people in law enforcement satisfy the department’s requirements by the nature of their jobs, the Times said.
