Investigation: Deputy-Involved Shootings, Sacramento County Sheriff's Department,*

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The Grand Jury recommends the Board of Supervisors provide sufficient funds to support the comprehensive, objective review and analysis of officer- involved shootings by either the OIG or the District Attorney, or both, as the Board determines is appropriate and necessary. P.O. Box 749 • 901 G Street • Sacramento, California 95812-0749 www.sacda.org (916) 874-6218 I agree that independent review of officer-involved shootings contributes to law enforcement accountability and to public confidence in the review of such incidents. However, it is not a universal practice nationwide, or even within California, for the District Attorney to conduct these reviews; it is a discretionary function. When I discontinued the practice in 2011, my office had suffered severe budget cuts for several years. Investigation and review of officer-involved shooting incidents must be handled through general fund resources. Over the course of a four year period, our office lost 20% of general fund attorney positions, 24% of general fund criminalist positions, and 42% of general fund investigator positions. With these cuts impacting day-to-day investigation and prosecution operations, I could not continue the discretionary function of the officer-involved shooting reviews. I did advise the police agencies (including the Sheriff's Department) that my office would consider investigation and review in special situations, on a case-by-case basis, on request. During the period from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2013, we did undertake the review of a limited number of cases. While our budget situation is still not ideal, we were able to close the budget gap for the new fiscal year without further layoffs. I concluded that with some reorganization of our Special Investigations section (where officer-involved shootings are handled), we could restore review for these cases in a modified format. Our new procedure involves a more limited commitment of resources, with no regular involvement of District Attorney investigators. Instead, we will rely on the investigative information generated by the police agencies. My letter to the police agencies and my public statement announcing this renewed program are enclosed. Finally, I welcome the Grand Jury's recommendation that the Board of Supervisors fully fund this function. Sincerely, Jan Eully DISTRICT ATTORNEY JS:gf Enclosures OFFICE OF THE 901 G Street Sacramento, CA 95814 www.sacda.org <b>DISTRICT ATTORNEY</b> SACRAMENTO COUNTY CYNTHIA G. BESEMER CHIEF DEPUTY JAN SCULLY ALBERT C. LOCHER DISTRICT ATTORNEY ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY MEDIA ADVISORY District Attorney Jan Scully announced that her office will resume review of officer involved shooting cases. The procedure will consist of a legal review and analysis of whether the shooting was lawful, or provides the basis for criminal prosecution of the officer. In 2011, after severe budget cuts, the District Attorney's Office eliminated regular review of all officer involved shooting cases. The District Attorney would investigate and review some individual cases on special request that were clearly sensitive in nature. Only a few such cases were reviewed under this standard. Although the District Attorney noted that her budget is by no means ideal, her resources have stabilized to the point where the Special Investigations section of the office can be reorganized, and once again include review of shootings and in-custody deaths. The review process will not include a regular system of having D.A. investigators respond to shooting investigations or conducting independent witness interviews or investigation as had been the case until July 2011. The D.A.'s review and legal analysis will be based solely on the investigation materials from the police agency's own investigation. However, the District Attorney will provide investigator response if there are extenuating circumstances, which has been the practice for the last two years. District Attorney Scully explained that she could not decide to institute the shooting reviews before knowing what her budget would be for the year, and whether layoffs would be required. The County passed the budget for the new fiscal year on June 11. Scully welcomed the recommendation of the Grand Jury, released today, that the Board of Supervisors provide full funding for the D.A.'s investigation and review of officer involved shootings and in-custody death cases. View letter from DA Scully to law enforcement agencies informing them of the reinstatement of the review of officer involved shootings. G Street | Sacramento, CA 95814 (P) 916.874.6218 (F) 916.321.2201 WWW.SACDA.ORG facebook OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY CYNTHIA G. BESEMER SACRAMENTO COUNTY Chief Deputy JAN SCULLY ALBERT C. LOCHER District Attorney Assistant District Attorney Chief Robert Lehner Sheriff Scott Jones Chief Sam Somers Elk Grove Police Dept. Sacramento Sheriff's Dept. Sacramento Police Dept. 8400 Laguna Palms Way 711 G Street 5770 Freeport Blvd. Elk Grove, CA 95758 Sacramento, CA 95814 Sacramento, CA 95822 Chief Rosanne Richeal Chief Bill Bowen Chief Cynthia Renaud Rancho Cordova Police Dept. Folsom Police Dept. Galt Police Dept. 2897 Kilgore Road 46 Natoma Street 455 Industrial Drive Rancho Cordova, CA 95670 Folsom, CA 95630 Galt, CA 95632 Chief Christopher Boyd Citrus Heights Police Dept. 6315 Fountain Square Dr. Citrus Heights, CA 95621 Re: OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTING CASES Dear Sheriff and Chiefs of Police: As you will recall, two-years ago, we were forced to eliminate our review of officer involved shooting (OIS) cases and death in custody cases due to severe budget restrictions placed upon this office. It was not an easy decision to make because I have always valued the importance of this independent review for the community and our law enforcement partners. Over this time, we did review a few OIS cases, on special request, that were clearly sensitive in nature. While our budget situation is clearly still not ideal, I have decided that it is time to restore this important function to my Special Investigations unit, albeit in a modified format. As of now, our review of OIS cases will be limited to a legal analysis to determine whether the "shooting" P.O. Box 749 • 901 G Street • Sacramento, California 95812-0749 www.sacda.org (916) 874-6218 Sheriff and Chiefs of Police Page Two was lawful. We will rely upon the investigative information generated by your agency to conduct such legal review of the event. As before, our review will culminate with a letter to you indicating our legal conclusions regarding the actions of your officer(s). As you know, our Bureau of Investigation has been seriously impacted by our budget constraints. Having lost 42% of my general fund investigative team, I cannot afford to have an investigator routinely respond to OIS or in-custody death investigations. However, we will continue with our current protocol where your agency designee may contact Chief Investigator Jeff Schiele, if for some extenuating circumstance, you would like us to consider an immediate response. Chief Schiele can be reached at: office Finally, in the event of an OIS, I ask that your department contact my Special Investigations Unit supervisor, Michael Blazina, at annual, at the earliest opportunity after the shooting. This will allow us to log in the case and begin to monitor the circumstances in preparation for the conclusion of your investigation and the forwarding of the investigative packet to this office. On our end, it is my goal that this modified approach for the review of OIS cases and our report back to your agency will be a more expedited process. If you have any questions or need additional information, don't hesitate to call me. Very truly yours, JAN SCU <b>DISTRICT ATTORNEY</b> JS:gf . . 0.0 . .