A newly released oversight report on the 2022 killing of David Peláez Chavez by a Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy faults the agency’s tactics and transparency, highlighting missed chances to use language and mental-health resources and warning of misleading public statements.
The Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach (IOLERO) issued its final report August 8, marking the first time the watchdog agency has used its Measure P authority to independently investigate a deputy-involved fatal shooting. The 108-page review focused on whether deputies followed law and policy in the events that led Deputy Michael Dietrick to shoot Peláez Chavez near Healdsburg on July 29, 2022.
The report found both Dietrick and his partner, Deputy Anthony Powers, made some attempts at de-escalation but failed to call for interpreters or crisis-intervention support, did not identify themselves clearly as law enforcement, and allowed their communications to break down during a lengthy foot pursuit through steep terrain. In the final 25 seconds, investigators said Dietrick’s decision to close distance on Peláez Chavez may have escalated the confrontation…