A high-ranking LAPD official, Al Labrada, was placed on administrative leave Tuesday after allegations of stalking, Chief Michel Moore said.
Moore announced the move at Tuesday’s meeting of the department’s oversight body, the Board of Police Commissioners.
Labrada, one of three assistant chiefs who report to Moore, was the subject of an Ontario police report that alleged he used an Apple AirTag to track the movements of an LAPD police officer he was romantically involved with, according to law enforcement sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation.
The officer who made the report against Labrada alleged that she discovered an AirTag — a small tracking device that can be attached to personal items — among her possessions, the sources said. After department officials learned of the allegations, they launched an internal investigation and took away Labrada’s city-issued phone, sources said.
Moore told the commission Tuesday that he was limited in what he could say about the personnel matter, but that he was taking the allegations “very seriously.”
“We will continue to cooperate with the outside agency as they continue their investigation, as well as conduct our internal investigation,” Moore said. “That means consequences should these allegations prove to be true.”
Commission President Erroll Southers said he had ordered the inspector general’s office to monitor the LAPD’s investigation “so we can ensure objectivity, impartiality, going forward.”