Sherman Block was the 29th Sheriff of Los Angeles County, California from January 1982 until his death. He was preceded by Peter Pitchess and succeeded by Lee Baca.

Peter J. Pitchess was the 28th Sheriff of Los Angeles County, California, serving from 1958 to 1981. He is credited with modernizing the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, turning the department into the sixth-largest police department, and the largest sheriff's department, in the United States.