Residents say the outage has left them uneasy.
"In an emergency you got to get a hold of somebody," said East Los Angeles resident Frank Joaquin.
Sheriff's officials said the station has shifted operations to maintain service. In a statement, the department said desk operations and personnel "have been relocated to an alternate location in the interim and dispatch operations remain fully functional."
The copper theft is part of a broader pattern in the area, where similar crimes have disrupted street lighting and other public systems.
"It's sad... The Sixth Street Bridge is totally dark. That's not nice," Joaquin said.
Several months ago, copper thieves stole wiring for the lights and left the Sixth Street Bridge in the dark.
7 On Your Side also reported numerous stories of people losing landline service for months because of copper theft.
AT&T crews have been working at the sheriff's station for several days to restore service, workers told Eyewitness News. Workers said they are aware of the urgency, with roughly 200 phone lines needing reconnection.
AT&T said in a statement that read in part:
"...the Boyle Heights area experienced four separate thefts that disrupted service for many customers, including the LA Sheriff's Department. Due to the complexity of the copper infrastructure. As a result, restoration is taking longer, copper cable outages generally take five times longer on average than fiber outages."
Some residents wonder why landlines are still such a critical part of communication systems.
"I can't believe they still use landlines because they're too expensive and everybody has cellphones," Joaquin said.
Officials emphasized that 911 service has not been affected, but non-emergency calls may face delays. There is no estimate for when full phone service will be restored.