LA County Sheriff Robert Luna talks top goals in new role: Listen and learn

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Sheriff Robert Luna is settling into his new position as the leader of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department - and he said his primary goal is to do two things: Listen and learn.

"I always use that third word, which is rare in law enforcement, which is to love, and I've already fallen in love with this department and the men and women here," said Luna.

During a one-on-one interview with Eyewitness News, Luna opened up about his first week on the job and the unique challenges that lie ahead.

Following a contentious campaign that led to the ouster of incumbent Alex Villanueva, Luna officially took command last week.

Villanueva's term was marred by clashes with members of the county Board of Supervisors and criticism that he downplayed allegations of malfeasance by some deputies. He blamed the controversies on "false narratives" by his political opponents.

"I think you saw me during the campaign and the debates," said Luna when asked his reaction to Villanueva's comments made about him during the race for sheriff. "Here's the bottom line: We teach our employees, our deputies, our police officers to de-escalate. People are going to approach you and say bad or negative things. I think I behaved in a way that I expect our employees to behave to people who may not be saying the nicest things to them. Just treat others with respect, get through the situation and be an example for others."

But even with Villanueva gone, long-standing issues from within the department still remain. The topic of deputy gangs within the force been a top concern for voters and Luna said he plans to tackle the issue head-on.

"Just like I did during the campaign, I'm not going to hide from it," he said. "The issue of deputy gangs obviously is a big issue and the first thing I talked about is acknowledging we have a problem. But I would like to say something else ... when we talk about deputy gangs, I don't want the entire department to be labeled. Although it makes us all look bad, it's a small portion of the department. The majority of the men and women here are doing an amazing job for our community every day."

He said it's important to get that message across and that he vows to defend "good policing."

"I believe that the majority of the people here are involved in good policing, but I'm not going to defend bad policing and anything involving gangs is bad policing and I will never defend that kind of conduct," said Luna.

Luna is going from commanding around 800 officers in the Long Beach Police Department to more than 10,000 sworn deputies in the sheriff's department, a big leap even for the most seasoned veterans.

"Did you get nervous for your first day?" asked ABC7's Jory Rand.

"I think there was a little bit of anxiety coming into a new environment," said Luna. "It was like being a kid at a new school. How's everybody going to treat me? But as I said earlier, it was just amazing. I walked into this building, even before I walked in, people made me feel right at home, and I feel like I'm ready to take off and get the work of the people done and I'm really looking forward to being the sheriff of Los Angeles County."

City News Service, Inc. contributed to this report.