SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — The Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 Tuesday to give the Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board greater power to investigate in-custody deaths in response to numerous deaths in San Diego County jails.
The motion by Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe allows the oversight board to "investigate any employee or contractor" working under sheriff's or probation departments direction, including contracted health care providers, but only in-custody death cases.
It also requires the board to finish investigations within one year of discovering misconduct allegations, prioritizing investigations involving death over all other investigations; have the executive officer report to the Board of Supervisors within 30 days if CLERB fails to complete an investigation within one year; and making it clear that CLERB must investigate all in-custody deaths, including those classified as "natural," and allow it to reopen a closed case under narrow circumstances.
"We cannot allow any more incidents to go unchecked or unnoticed," Montgomery Steppe said in a statement. "The time has come to be bold and bring accountability to a problem that has taken decades to correct.
Montgomery Steppe added that CLERB "can be a force for positive change. With the right tools, we can ensure that the tragic and preventable deaths we've seen in the San Diego County jails come to an end."
The vote follows public outcry over numerous deaths in San Diego County jails, which has led to the county paying out millions of dollars in legal settlements over in-custody deaths. The county was ordered in July to pay $15 million to the family of Elisa Serna, who died in November 2019 in the Las Colinas Detention Facility.
Sheriff Martinez comments on greater CLERB oversight
Sheriff Kelly Martinez said Tuesday's vote "is something CLERB has been insisting upon for years."
Martinez said in a statement CLERB is citing a 2022 state audit report to justify the request for more oversight, "along with a belief that they don't have a complete picture if they can't investigate medical staff and contractors."
Martinez added that CLERB "has also suggested that the sheriff's office will not implement their recommendations," but she has "taken every recommendation seriously and weighed each as it applies to the law, operational ability and best practices."
In regards to the state audit, "we have adopted those recommendations and implemented all that we can, with final implementation requiring infrastructure changes we are unable to complete," Martinez added.
Martinez also said she believes this push for oversight is a part of an anti-law enforcement movement.
"I know that there is a movement to abolish all jails," she said. "I believe much of the requested oversight and criticisms of our system are spurred by this movement."
She added,
"We cannot have safe communities without jails."
'We are trying to make law enforcement better'
It was a comment MaryAnne Pintar, CLERB's Chair, told CBS 8 she was stunned by the comment.
"That has never been mentioned by any member of CLERB, nor have I heard anyone who comes to a meeting suggest that was the direction CLERB should advocate," Pintar said. "We have a lot of families who've lost a loved one in custody and are angry about what happened to their family member, but I've never heard anyone suggest that the answer to those problems was to abolish incarceration facilities."
Pintar also said while CLERB and the Sheriff's Office disagree sometimes, the two groups have had "a good working relationship." Neither party wants to see in-custody deaths continue, she said. She said CLERB's eight investigators would not be able to do their jobs if it weren't for the Sheriff's Office cooperation.
In 1990, San Diego County voters established CLERB "to independently and impartially investigate citizen complaints against San Diego County sheriff's deputies and probation officers," according to the county's website.
Pintar rejects the belief some community members might have that CLERB is "anti-law enforcement."
"What we are trying to do is make law enforcement better, to make it safer, to make it so that people feel like they can trust in the Sheriff's Department," she told CBS 8. "That benefits both our law enforcement as well as the public."
Brett Kalina, CLERB's executive officer, thanked supervisors for reviewing policy and "listening to the community on this."
Kalina said that for years, CLERB has heard from families who haven't received closure on their loved ones who died in jail.
"They've really fought hard for what is proposed before you today," he said. "We're going to need the proper resources to take on this new role."
During public comment, supervisors heard from family members of inmates who died in custody, along with justice reform advocates.
Paloma Serna, mother of Elisa Serna, said her family supports the new policy and said, and wants to see accountability and justice for loved ones who died in custody.
"Kelly Martinez has lots of work to do," she said, in reference to the statement Martinez released earlier Tuesday.
Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer said while it was important that the county not overpromise on what a strengthened CLERB can do, the new policies are a "very important step in the right direction."
Supervisor Joel Anderson was absent Tuesday due to illness, officials said.
What happens next
The new policy directs Chief Administrative Officer Ebony Shelton to find funding to cover expanded CLERB jurisdiction costs and figure out what the approved ordinance will look like.
CLERB must also update its rules and regulations, and report back to the Board of Supervisors within 60 days.
Shelton will also determine what additional resources CLERB, the Sheriff's Office and the Probation Office will need to accommodate the new added oversight elements.
"My hope is that this proposal sends a message that San Diego County is committed to accountability and putting an end to this problem," Montgomery Steppe said.
Pintar said the ordinance approved Tuesday is slightly different than what CLERB approved in February.
The board will meet Tuesday Dec. 17 for its monthly meeting and vote on the language approved today.
