County Jails Report Called 'Puff Piece'

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted this morning not to hear a report on the history and status of jail reforms from the Sheriff's Office just hours after former Judge LaDoris Cordell and former Undersheriff John Hirokawa, candidate for sheriff, held a news conference to criticize the report.

The pair called the news conference before the board meeting to condemn the 66-page document and to call for the resignation of Sheriff Laurie Smith.

Cordell called the report by GAR Inc., the consulting company of retired Ada County Sheriff Gary Raney in Idaho, "a convoluted puff piece" that points out some existing issues in the jail system like an increase in inmate grievances but ultimately commends Smith and her staff.

After the death of Santa Clara County jail inmate Michael Tyree in 2015, the Board of Supervisors approved a resolution establishing a Blue Ribbon Commission On Improving Custody Operations.

The death of Tyree at the hands of three deputies is addressed under the GAR report section entitled "reform," which states, "As with many organizations, everything seemed okay -- until a rather unbelievable act occurred."

Following that sentence, Smith is complimented, as the report says, "Smith took action, commended by the community and controversial within the agency, that included a swift investigation and arrest of the deputies within the days of death."

The words "unauthorized and unsanctioned force" were used to describe the actions of former guards Jereh Lubrin, Rafael Rodriguez and Matthew Farris, who were ultimately convicted and sentenced for the beating death.

Cordell was appointed the chairperson of the Blue Ribbon Commission, which worked to receive public recommendations, discuss an inmate welfare fund and interview inmates to gauge what can be done.

Hirokawa called the survey conclusions of the jail-inmate climate two years after Tyree's death "somewhat critical."

Cordell said her commission called for a higher level of community involvement in regulating the jails moving forward, but the report contradicts the idea.

"In hindsight, some observers feel that the amount of community involvement, sometimes influenced by particular agendas, made it difficult to prioritize the issues that mattered most to an inmate's care and custody," the report states.

Smith contracted GAR Inc. in September 2017 to compile the report, but Hirokawa said he was confused as to why a report like that wasn't assigned to the county-associated commission.

"Why wouldn't you go back to the original, go back to the baseline that reported on how the inmates were feeling?" Hirokawa asked. "This is a propaganda piece for the re-election of Laurie Smith."

Hirokawa, who is seeking to replace Smith as sheriff, also spoke in the wake of new allegations that Smith pulled interview tapes from an internal affairs investigation, hiding accusations that she had sexually harassed a colleague earlier on in her career.

In asking if it should be suspicious to the public that the claims are surfacing before Smith's seat is up in the June election, Hirokawa said that community members should not be criticizing the victims of sexual misconduct.

"The #MeToo cause is about protecting the victim. What procedures have we put in place?" he said. "Do I blame them for not coming forward before? I think you listen to their story."

Hirokawa said he didn't know how the news was resonating with her subordinates or how it could transfer in how they treat the community that they serve.

"It wasn't right 20 years ago, it isn't right today, and she needs to be held accountable," he said.

Both former officials spoke during public comment before the board voted to keep the hearing on the report off the consent calendar.

Cordell asked the supervisors to go a step beyond not adopting the document, and to also ask Smith to pay taxpayers back for the "useless document."

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By Bay City News Service

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