The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to empower a citizens review board for law enforcement to take stronger measures in probing in-custody deaths.
The board voted 4-1 for Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe’s proposal to strengthen the Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board, a move she called “a bold and necessary step forward.”
The amendments in Tuesday’s ordinance include:
- authorizing CLERB to investigate any county employee or contractor, including health care providers, working under direction of the sheriff or probation department in connection with in-custody deaths.
- requiring CLERB to finish all investigations within one year of discovering allegations of misconduct and publicly reporting any delays.
- no longer automatically dismissing investigations after one year.
- requiring CLERB to prioritize cases involving in-custody deaths over “all other cases, even those classified as `natural,’ and reopen a closed case in narrow circumstances.”
Montgomery Steppe, who serves as board vice char, thanked the community for fighting for answers and solutions…