County Will Consider Independent Review Process for All Jail Deaths

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors agreed unanimously Tuesday to look into the possibility of creating an independent review procedure to investigate all deaths in the county jails.

The action was taken at the urging of Supervisor Susan Golding, who said controversy over allegations of excessive force against inmates and questionable deaths in the jail system has shaken the confidence of the public.

“We have to make sure the integrity of the criminal justice system is maintained,” Golding said.

“The public needs to know,” Golding said, that, if there are deaths in the jail, “it couldn’t have been prevented, and no one is at fault for it.”

Allegations of Brutality

The media have reported allegations of beatings by deputies and, more recently, deaths allegedly caused by mistreatment and neglect. As a result, both the county grand jury and the FBI are investigating.

Golding’s proposal calls on Chief Administrative Officer Norman Hickey to study the feasibility of setting up an independent review process, but it is unknown what form that may eventually take.

Some supervisors, such as George Bailey and John MacDonald, said that, although they support the administration’s looking into the matter, they have questions about whether such an analysis is premature, in light of the county grand jury’s current investigation.

Focuses on Deaths

Golding responded that the grand jury is investigating beatings and use of excessive force in the jails, and that her proposal specifically focuses on the question of inmate deaths. She acknowledged, however, that both subjects--beatings and deaths--are related and that the grand jury may indeed make recommendations in both areas.

Golding said her proposal will allow Hickey and his staff great leeway in studying what it would take to form an independent review process, how such a system would work and whether it is even needed. In fact, Golding said, she doesn’t have an opinion about whether the review process should be carried out by a new panel and whether that panel, or any other review process, should have investigative powers.

What is clear to her, she said, is an urgent need to establish an independent review of all jail deaths. “It is the moral obligation and the state-mandated responsibility of the Board of Supervisors to assure the people of this county that those under the care of our law enforcement officers are treated fairly and humanely,” she said in a letter to her colleagues.

No one from the Sheriff’s Department spoke to the supervisors about the proposal.

Wait-and-See Approach

A sheriff’s spokesman, Lt. Alan Fulmer, said the department will take a wait-and-see attitude before analyzing any findings by Hickey.

“The situation is we don’t really have anything to hide . . . we’re open to any and all investigations, if we thought they were necessary,” Fulmer said.

He said that, when an inmate at the jail dies, the case is automatically referred to the district attorney and the state attorney general’s offices. If warranted, Fulmer said, an inmate’s death would be reviewed by six outside agencies, including the FBI, the federal grand jury and the coroner’s office.

“It seems there might be duplication of efforts here,” he said. In addition, Fulmer said, his department would have questions about the legal standing of the proposed review body, such as whether it would be given authority to usurp the power of other agencies.

It may take Hickey up to 60 days to make his recommendation to the board.