On Wednesday, April 19, 2023, an incident occurred at the West Hollywood library during the “Drag Story Hour” where a victim was assaulted, and his phone was robbed and vandalized during a protest. West Hollywood Station Detectives later identified one of the suspects as Hunter Lee Darling who is also known as Xodiak Rose. On May 31, 2023, an arrest warrant for Darling was issued by a judge.
On Saturday, June 3, 2023, deputies saw Darling during a “Pride Weekend” event. Because of the location of the suspect and event, West Hollywood deputies devised a plan to quickly and safely take the suspect into custody. West Hollywood deputies arrested Darling and booked them at West Hollywood Station for robbery, vandalism, and battery. During Darling’s arrest, Abby Nicole Thomas, a friend of Darling’s, intervened and prevented the deputies from safely completing the arrest. Thomas was also arrested and booked for interfering and obstructing an arrest.
The District Attorney’s Office filed a vandalism charge against Darling. Charges for Thomas are pending filing with the District Attorney’s Office.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department prides itself on a Tradition of Service to our Community. It is our job to bring offenders to justice in the safest way possible for our entire Community. In addition to the criminal investigation regarding the suspects, the Department also conducts other administrative reviews. The Department is always reviewing our performance to enhance our service to our Community. Providing the best service to our Community and keeping people safe is our primary focus which includes a great partnership and transparency with our Community.
On Friday, June 9, 2023, I had the opportunity to meet with LGBTQ+ Leaders regarding the Transgender Community at my office and a great discussion ensued. As Sheriff of Los Angeles County, it is my commitment to improve relationships with our Transgender Community and every Community that we serve in Los Angeles County. We want to hear all voices and build coalitions with our Community Partners.
We are currently in the process of setting up a LGBTQ+ Advisory Working Group for the Sheriff’s Department. This group will serve as an advocacy group for concerns of the LGBTQ+ Community and make recommendations to improve training and our service to the LGBTQ+ Community.
We have a newer curriculum of LGBTQ+ Training which is approved by the California State Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). We are always looking at ways to enhance and improve our training that we provide for our personnel.
This training will eventually be expanded to the entire Department. At each of our Sheriff Stations, we will seek Community input to fashion an addendum to the LGBTQ+ Training that will be area specific to each Sheriff’s Station area.
Upon my recommendation, we are starting quarterly meetings with the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station and our Transgender Community. This is an opportunity to build relationships, resolve issues, and improve training. We want to change the paradigm, not only for our West Hollywood Community, but for our entire Los Angeles County Community. We want our Sheriff’s Stations to be considered safe places for everyone.
We believe in integrity, accountability, and collaboration. These are the commitments we make to our entire Los Angeles County
Community and the tenets on which we build our Tradition of Service.
Robert G. Luna, Sheriff
Forwarded by:
Sheriff's Information Bureau
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
211 West Temple Street,
Los Angeles California 90012
213-229-1700
http://www.lasd.org
*Text & Email, Register for LASD Nixle messages: To receive more detailed, up-to-date information via E-MAIL and/or TEXT directly from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), sign up for "Nixle" alerts at http://www.Nixle.com and register for "LASD – Headquarters Newsroom (SHB), Los Angeles County Sheriff" AND your local LASD station area. Or, to receive URGENT TEXT ALERTS ONLY, text your zip code to 888777. Standard text messaging rates may apply depending on your calling plan.
Robert G. Luna, Sheriff
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
