Sonoma Sheriff's Deputy Misconduct Complaints Reviewed By County

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors this week reviewed an annual report by the county's Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach on the performance of the county sheriff's office. The formation of the IOLERO in April 2016 followed the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Andy Lopez by Sonoma County sheriff's Deputy Erick Gelhaus in October 2013. Lopez was carrying a BB pellet rifle on Moorland Avenue southwest of Santa Rosa that resembled an AK-47 when he was shot seven times.

Gelhaus said he thought the gun was real and that Lopez was raising the rifle as he turned toward him.

The 2017-2018 fiscal year report by IOLEO Director Jerry Threet dated Sept. 18 is 111 pages. It contains an eight-page response by the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office and a 16-page response by Threet to the sheriff's office's response.

Threet said IOLERO took complaints from 35 community members and audited 42 investigations of alleged deputy misconduct in the last two and a half years.

He said in the first year the sheriff's office was open and helpful, but in the past year tensions between his office and the sheriff's office have continued to "percolate and build."

Threet said IOLERO completed 19 audits of alleged misconduct in the 2017-2018 period. IOLERO agreed with the sheriff's office's investigation in nine audits and disagreed with the sheriff's office's findings in 10 audits, Threet said.

The investigations of seven of those 10 audits were incomplete, and in three of the 10, "the investigation was conducted in such a way that it could be reasonably perceived as showing a bias in favor of the deputies or agency," Threet said.

Audits of investigations overall show that patrol deputies typically act in a manner consistent with the requirements of agency policies and the law, Threet said.

The IOLERO report also includes concerns about excessive use of force against inmates in Sonoma County Jail.

"Fortunately, there is evidence that the Sheriff's Office's leadership team recognizes the need for change and that it is acting to correct deficiencies," the report states.

The report also found that grievances filed by jail inmates were routinely investigated by jail employees who had some role in the incident being grieved, which presents a clear conflict of interest.

"These continuing deficiencies in the investigative process should be addressed by the leadership of the Sheriff's Office and deserve greater attention," the report states.

In its response to the 2017-2018 report, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office states it is extremely disappointed with Threet and the report, calling it a personal attack on the office and its employees.

"Generally, the Sheriff's Office believes there is a fundamental flaw in the design of the current IOLERO office. At its core, the perceived success of IOLERO depends, at least in part, on the perceived failure or short-comings of the Sheriff's Office.

"There was little to no coverage in the Report regarding the positive things the Sheriff's Office has accomplished over the past year," sheriff's officials said in their response.

The sheriff's office lists 10 positive changes it has made in the past year that include keeping officers' body cameras running throughout an arrested person's transport to the jail, installing fixed, operational cameras in the jail, customer service training for deputies, developing a homeless policy, and adding a statement to complaint forms and policy that forbids any member of the sheriff's office from retaliating against anyone filing a complaint.

The response said the sheriff's office favors a neutral, independent and unbiased auditor of misconduct complaints for a specific, limited period of time.

"If there is no expectation of employment beyond a specific period of time, there is no pressure or inherent need to justify IOLERO. This would greatly reduce the chances of either intentional or unintentional bias developing in the auditor," sheriff's officials said.

By Bay City News Service

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