Riverside County Sheriff Blasts Oversight Of His Office: 'Purely About Political Control'

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — After hours of public comment and discussion on Tuesday about the possibility of establishing a committee to oversee the sheriff's department, and creating an office of the inspector general to assist with those duties, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors let the proposal die.

In the near term, the effort is unlikely to resurface despite some public criticism of Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco that includes concerns about the high death toll among jail inmates during the 2020 through 2023 period and the lawsuits that ensued; the sheriff's condemnation of the state's Covid-19 safety measures; and politicizing the office of the sheriff, among other things.

During Tuesday's Riverside County Board of Supervisors' meeting, Bianco was the last speaker to take the microphone on the agenda item.

"We're here because of a lie," he said of the oversight effort. "This is purely about political control and influence."

The sheriff claimed his office is the most transparent law enforcement agency in the country, and he railed against Democrats without naming anyone, instead indirectly pointing to state leaders and calling out several counties that leaned Democratic during the 2024 Presidential General Election.

Bianco, a Republican and vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, formally announced in February that he is running for Governor of California.

Supervisor Jose Medina proposed creating the oversight committee, and he's the one who got it posted to Tuesday's board meeting agenda. A Democrat, Medina did not shrug from Bianco's criticism of the oversight proposal and instead alleged that Tuesday's meeting was productive until the sheriff spoke.

The idea of installing a sheriff's oversight committee is not new in the county. In June 2020, Supervisor V. Manuel Perez sought a similar measure. He wanted a review of the sheriff's department's use of deadly force protocols and other policies and procedures.

Perez's proposal had come amid local protests against police brutality that followed the 2020 in-custody death of George Floyd during his arrest in Minneapolis.

Bianco condemned Floyd's killing at the hands of law enforcement. During one of the many peaceful Riverside County protests that took place, Bianco took a knee to show solidarity with those who were marching.

Bianco's deputies largely kept peace in Riverside County despite national violence sparked by Floyd's murder.

In the weeks that followed, Perez's oversight effort failed to gain significant traction among his colleagues.

Speaking on Tuesday, Perez reflected aloud that he should have had more conversations with the community and with deputies before calling for an oversight committee.

Supervisor Chuck Washington struck a similar tone on Tuesday. He wanted more dialogue and non-combative conversations with community members before taking any formal action.

Supervisor Karen Spiegel said Tuesday that she felt some community members have prejudged her as someone who always takes the sheriff's side despite her sometimes heated disagreements with the county's top lawman.

"I was labeled," she said.

Rather than take sides, Spiegel argued that dialogue should include everyone, not just some.

"This issue is not going away," Medina said. "But now we will just not have a platform for discussion."

During public comments, La Quinta City Councilman Steve Sanchez aired grievances, telling the board that Medina's proposal would shift accountability away from voters and to appointees. 'Oversight' is called elections," he said.

That election could be a ways off. If Bianco doesn't win the California governorship in 2026, his current term as sheriff doesn't expire until the 2028 presidential election.