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Yes On S Campaign Receives Cease And Desist Order From Sheriff's Department Over Home Mailers
Photo via LAC Sheriff's Department/Facebook
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The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department has issued a cease and desist order to the Coalition to Preserve LA (re: the Yes on Measure S campaign) for their use of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department name on a home mailer. The mailer appears to be an eviction notice, on one side, and a campaign message on the other.
"We are a tenants’ rights organization and have been getting phones calls from tenants who say they became frightened and unnerved upon opening their mail boxes and thinking they had just received an eviction notice," Larry Gross, from the Coalition for Economic Survival, wrote in a letter to the Sheriff's Department, a release by the No On S campaign cites. "Then, they became angry when they realized that this was a dirty campaign ploy to scare them into voting for Measure S."
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Photo via LAC Sheriff's Department/Facebook
"Recently, The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was made aware that a political mailer has circulated depicting an official looking document from the Sheriff’s Department," a Friday press release by the department notes. "California Business and Professions Code § 17533.6 prohibits a nongovernmental entity from using a trade or brand name, seal, emblem, or insignia in a manner that can be construed as implying local governmental approval, unless the nongovernmental entity has an express connection with or the approval or endorsement of that governmental entity."
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The cease and desist letter was also sent on Friday to the Coalition to Preserve LA.
"The county demands that you immediately cease and desist from any and all use of the LASD name, County name, any images or reproductions bearing or having a likeness to the LASD or County names, or an official County or LASD document, and that you cease and desist from making any references to being authorized by or affiliated with a governmental entity, including the County and LASD," the letter states. "...Should you fail to comply with this demand to cease and desist, the County will pursue any and all legal remedies, including seeking injunctive relief and attorneys' fees."
The Yes On S campaign has until Monday, February 27, to provide written confirmation that they are complying with the Sheriff Department's demand.
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