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What is police accountability?

Simply stated: All sworn officers will be held responsible for their actions and treat members of the community in a respectful and lawful manner – without regard to race or ethnicity. Particularly, sworn officers will not abuse their power and use more force than necessary, nor will they exhibit bias against any group of persons.

Elected officials must be held accountable for establishing policies and procedures to effectively ensure that their officers meet the highest standards to “protect and serve” members of the community.

Unfortunately, Sonoma County has a long history of deaths at the hands of law enforcement officers and of inmates at the Sonoma County Jail. The killings of 8 people by law enforcement in less than 2½ years and the deaths of 3 inmates in the county jail in 1997 lead to investigations of the 13 law enforcement departments in Sonoma County by both the 1997-98 County of Sonoma Grand Jury and the United States Civil Rights Commission Advisory Committee, which held fact-finding hearings in Santa Rosa in February, 1998. Both boards made recommendations to be implemented. Both recommended the creation of citizen review boards. Our local leaders ignored them. The high rate of killings at the hands of local law enforcement and deaths at the Sonoma County Jail has continued. In 2007 alone, local law enforcement officers killed 4 people, 2 of whom were mentally ill, and 4 inmates at the Sonoma County Jail have died.

The 1997-98 Sonoma County Grand Jury Recommendations included:

The United States Civil Rights Commission Advisory Committee Recommendations included:

Other cities in California established civilian review boards to hold hearings about alleged incidents of police misconduct and those hearings were open to the community and to the press.

Your Rights & the Police

10 Principles for Effective Civilian Review Board

Recommendations of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission Advisory Committee

Frequently Asked Questions About Copley Press and SB 1019

OpEd: ACLU: Citizens Review of Police Shootings Needed  published 3/29/2007 Press Democrat

OpEd: What Do The Police Chiefs Fear? published 2/18/1998 Press Democrat

1997-1998 Sonoma County Grand Jury Findings and Conclusions