Robert Garrova
I cover mental health at a time when L.A. — and the nation — is failing people who live with a serious mental illness. The L.A. County jail system is the de-facto mental health institution for our region, and people who want help with their mental health often can’t get it, even if they can afford it. I’ll work to help Angelenos understand how we got here and what reforms aim to change things. I’ll do this through the stories of people struggling with their own mental health and those trying to get care for a loved one.
My reporting has taken me to the edge of wildfires in California, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, steps away from a robot that’s now exploring Mars, and into the homes of countless Angelenos.
I’ve had many jobs in radio. I used to help produce and direct the flagship show for Marketplace, a daily business and economic news show. I also spent a couple years in the Northeast working as a reporter. I found my love of audio journalism while interning on LAist's (formerly KPCC’s) Off-Ramp in 2013.
I was born and raised in SoCal. I’m most proud when my journalism can help raise the voices of people struggling in this beautiful region stricken by inequality.
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A new county pilot program is designed to give people who have a mental illness, substance use disorder, or are unhoused an offramp from the criminal justice system — before charges have been filed. -
The Sheriff's Department released deputy body-worn camera footage of the fatal shooting, several months after it occurred and a day after the Ordaz family announced it had filed a federal lawsuit.
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The lawsuit names four deputies who were on scene and accuses them of being “negligent,” “careless” and “using unjustifiable lethal force.”
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The L.A. City Council asked the City Attorney to ensure that affected families are compensated for injuries and property damage. A representative from the City Attorney’s office said it’s received 145 claims so far.
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Buck, a fixture in West Hollywood politics and a gay rights activist, could spend the rest of his life in prison for providing drugs that led to the overdose deaths of two men at his apartment.
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L.A. Police Chief Michael Moore said a miscalculation may have caused the explosion that injured 17 community members, displaced dozens of residents and caused severe damage to residential and business property.
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Research has found that when law enforcement is called to help someone during a psychiatric emergency, things are more likely to go wrong. Community Alternatives to 911 is working to create other options.
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The county’s Inspector General says the Sheriff’s Department has denied his requests to view body cam video and other records, so he wants county counsel to compel the department to provide access so he can properly investigate allegations that deputies have harassed families of people killed by law enforcement.
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Nicholas Burgos was experiencing a mental health crisis inside Harbor-UCLA Medical Center last fall when Deputy Dalia Gonzalez shot him multiple times. Burgos died almost a month later.
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The teams will independently investigate fatal law enforcement shootings of unarmed people, a task that has typically fallen exclusively to local police and district attorneys.
