2 top O.C. sheriff’s officials leave posts
In a significant shake-up at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Assistant Sheriff Jo Ann Galisky was dismissed and colleague Steve Bishop resigned Friday in moves stemming from a grand jury investigation of an inmate’s beating death.
The departures, coming on the same day former Sheriff Michael S. Carona made his latest court appearance in a public corruption case, were the latest blows to a department long disgraced by turmoil.
Both Galisky and Bishop were appointed assistants by Carona, who is now facing trial on charges that he misused his public office. Neither of the former assistant sheriffs could be reached for comment, and they did not give reasons for their departures in messages to rank-and-file deputies posted on the department’s blog.
The housecleaning came a day after a special grand jury impaneled by the district attorney’s office completed a nine-month investigation into the fatal October 2006 beating of John Chamberlain at the Theo Lacy Jail, run by the department.
The findings have been temporarily sealed.
John Moorlach, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, confirmed Friday that both moves were connected to the investigation.
Chamberlain, a 41-year-old Mission Viejo computer technician, was attacked by about 20 inmates who believed he had been charged with child molestation.
In fact, Chamberlain had been accused of possessing child pornography.
One of the inmates charged in the murder alleged that a jail guard said Chamberlain was a molester. And hours before Chamberlain was killed, his public defender called jail officials to warn that his client felt his life was in danger and urged them to place him in protective custody.
He was not moved.
The Sheriff’s Department investigated the death itself rather than referring the case immediately to the district attorney’s office, violating a 20-year-old policy designed to avoid possible conflicts of interest. At the time, Galisky oversaw jail operations and Bishop was in charge of investigations.
“Something happened with the grand jury and they obviously informed Assistant Sheriff [Jack] Anderson of some concerns, and now he’s addressing them,” Moorlach said.
Earlier this month, the Board of Supervisors agreed to pay $600,000 to resolve a lawsuit filed by Chamberlain’s father alleging, among other things, that deputies falsely identified Chamberlain as a molester and failed to protect him or intervene during the attack.
County supervisors are currently seeking a permanent replacement for Carona, who led the department from 1999 until January, when he stepped down to fight charges that he, his wife and former mistress sold powers of the sheriff’s office for tens of thousands of dollars in cash and gifts.
Galisky, named last year as undersheriff, ran the department for nearly two months after Carona was indicted.
Before Carona resigned, he demoted Galisky to assistant sheriff and put Anderson in charge. He also dismissed Dan Martini as an assistant sheriff.
With Galisky and Bishop gone, the department is left under the command of Anderson and Assistant Sheriff Charlie Walters, also appointed by Carona.
Moorlach said the latest upheaval was an opportunity for the next sheriff to have a “clean slate” and to “provide new leadership and new corporate culture.”
stuart.pfeiffer@latimes.com
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