Deputies from the West Hollywood Station stood in solemn formation at LAX this week as Deputy Brian Sneed made his final journey home. The West Hollywood Station confirmed in a post on its official Instagram account that the veteran deputy died in a vacation accident on Feb. 13. His flag-draped casket arrived on a commercial flight, and the colleagues who lined up on the tarmac to salute him had worked alongside him for years.
For those who want to support his loved ones, the ALADS C.A.R.E.S. Foundation — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit affiliated with the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs — is accepting donations through 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25, 2026. Organizers say 100 percent of the proceeds will go directly to Sneed’s family. Donations can be made at donorbox.org/support-the-family-of-deputy-brian-sneed. The foundation’s tax identification number is 45-3275658.
(Photo: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)
Sneed joined LA County in 2013 and took his oath as a deputy sheriff the following year. He built his career at the West Hollywood Station on San Vicente Boulevard, starting out in custody at the Inmate Reception Center at Twin Towers Correctional Facility before eventually moving to patrol. It’s a familiar path for deputies in the department, and colleagues say he settled into the community like it was home.
In a 2023 department recruitment post, Sneed was described as a devoted husband who enjoyed traveling, spending time with family and friends, and working out. He left his own message for anyone thinking about joining the department: “Never give up, and always keep pushing forward putting one foot in front of the other.”
Nobody has said how old he was. The official statement called him someone who “prided himself in serving the community of West Hollywood” and described him as humble and deeply committed to the job. Sneed leaves behind his wife, parents and siblings.
West Hollywood Mayor John Heilman offered condolences on behalf of the City. “Deputy Sneed took great pride in protecting and serving the residents, businesses and visitors of West Hollywood,” Heilman said. “Throughout his years of service, he demonstrated professionalism, humility and an unwavering commitment to public safety. He was respected by all his colleagues and valued by the community he served. His presence will be profoundly missed.”
The West Hollywood City Council adjourned its Feb. 17 meeting in Sneed’s memory.
Saturday evening following the announcement of his death, the Century Memorial Ride posted its own tribute online and urged fellow deputies to rally around his family during the difficult stretch ahead.
The memorial wall
Inside the West Hollywood Station there’s a memorial wall with portraits honoring fallen personnel who served there. At least four deputies from the station have lost their lives over the years, and leadership has said the wall stays up so nobody forgets what those people sacrificed for the community.
Detective Amber Joy Leist
Detective Amber Joy Leist became the most recent face on that wall after she died on Jan. 12, 2020. The 41-year-old, 12-year veteran of the department spotted an elderly woman who had stumbled and fallen in a Valley Village crosswalk near Riverside Drive and Whitsett Avenue. Leist stopped her car on a Sunday morning, ran over and helped the woman safely to the sidewalk. A car heading eastbound on Riverside hit Leist on the way back to her vehicle after the light changed. Doctors at Cedars-Sinai couldn’t save her.
West Hollywood flew flags at half-staff and Sheriff Alex Villanueva held a press conference at the station that same night. A year later, in January 2021, Leist’s portrait went up on the memorial wall during a ceremony where her family released doves in her honor. She left behind her parents and two boys, one of them serving in the Navy at the time.
Deputy Soo H. Kim
Less than eight months after losing Leist, the station lost Deputy Soo H. Kim. He was 39 when he died at his Santa Clarita home on Aug. 21, 2020. Kim came out of the sheriff’s academy in 2012 and worked patrol at the West Hollywood Station. The coroner’s office took the case, but no cause of death ever came out publicly. He left behind his wife and twin girls.
Deputy Darden Hollis
Go back fifty years and there’s Deputy Darden Hollis. On New Year’s Day 1975, Hollis got into a struggle with a 19-year-old suspect at 7828 Santa Monica Blvd. The kid grabbed Hollis’s revolver and started shooting, killing the 42-year-old deputy and wounding two others. Hollis had served 15 years with the department and fought in Korea. He’s still the only West Hollywood Station deputy listed on the national Officer Down Memorial Page.
West Hollywood and the LASD
West Hollywood has contracted with the Sheriff’s Department for policing since the city incorporated in 1984, and about 35,000 residents depend on the station for public safety. Captain Fanny Lapkin currently runs it.
The LASD is the biggest sheriff’s department in the country with roughly 10,000 sworn deputies, and at least 139 of them have died in the line of duty since 1850. Deputy wellness has come under a harsh spotlight in recent years too. In November 2023, four current or former department members died by suicide in a single 24-hour stretch, and their families pointed to mandatory overtime as the thing that ground them down.
The department hasn’t said anything more about what happened to Deputy Sneed. Their full statement is below.
We are deeply saddened to announce the death of Deputy Brian Sneed, who passed away off-duty on Friday, February 13, 2026. Brian was sworn in as a Deputy Sheriff in 2014 and prided himself in serving the community of West Hollywood. Known by his friends and colleagues for his humility and commitment to his profession, Brian’s presence will be deeply missed.
Brian is survived by his wife, parents, and siblings.
Our @lasdhq family is mourning his loss, and our thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones and partners during this difficult time.
May Brian rest in peace.
