IOLERO's

monthly news and updates
APRIL 19, 2021 | NUMBER 24
Dear Community Partners,
This newsletter will provide an update about the resumption of in-person visits at the Sonoma County Jail and the Community Advisory Council’s (CAC’s) May meeting which will focus on Community Oriented Policing. However, first I want to take a moment to acknowledge the tragic deaths of Daunte Wright and Adam Toledo who were both killed during police encounters last week. 
Daunte Wright of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota was a 20-year-old black man and Adam Toledo of Chicago, Illinois was a 13-year-old Latino boy. Daunte, a young man who called his mother moments before he died, and Adam, still a child, were both killed just days apart in different parts of our country by police officers. It is heartbreaking for me, as I know it is for many of you, to read the stories about their deaths. The news stories conjure pain and frustration from story after story of black and brown Americans who will never have the opportunity to realize their full potential, to be with their families again on birthdays and holidays, or have a chance to contribute to our communities. 

I look at the pictures of Adam Toledo and I think that if I had a son, he may have looked like Adam. I know that, like my mother repeatedly told my brothers growing up, I would have taught him – when you encounter a police officer, be polite, say “yes, sir,” don’t make sudden movements and make sure the officer can see your hands at all times. But, no matter what we try to teach our sons and brothers to keep them safe, mothers and especially black and brown mothers, have no guarantee that when their sons leave the house each day they will be okay if they encounter the police. For those of us who grew up in heavily policed neighborhoods riddled by poverty and crime, being contacted by police is a daily occurrence that brings constant stress, fear and risk to our families.
 
There will be examinations of Daunte and Adam’s cases like the many lost before them – Michael Brown, Laquan McDonald, Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, George Floyd, Jeremiah Chass, Andy Lopez and David Ward, to name a few. The circumstances surrounding their deaths will be scrutinized including the peril and risk involved in police work, and arguments will be made for when deadly force is justified and when it isn’t justified. As civil lawsuits play out, people will engage in the bizarre work of ascertaining what these young lives were "worth." None of it relieves the insufferable pain that is felt by compassionate men and women across the nation who feel tired and helpless reading about another young life gone too soon and solutions that never seem to come soon enough. We read these stories alone in our homes, but we share the similar excruciating experience where we take breaks from the news stories to cry, pray and think – what can we do to make it stop?  
 
— Karlene Navarro
Executive Director, IOLERO
What is Being Done to Address Law Enforcement Related Violence in our Nation?
As we sit with our frustration and sadness, it can be helpful to remember that we live in the world as it is with all of its inequities and heartbreak, but as a country, we are capable of building a better reality and future. Throughout history, change has come by putting pressure on our system from every angle and at all different levels - at the same time. Currently, there are movements and changes on the horizon that we should be aware of and involved in so that we can work together to change our reality.  
 
The Federal Level: On Friday April 16th, U.S. Attorney General, Merrick Garland revived consent decrees as a tool to address cases of systemic police abuse. In the police abuse context, a consent decree is an agreement or settlement between the Department of Justice and a police agency approved by the court where the police agency agrees to make changes to its policies and procedures and the court monitors its progress. Historically, consent decrees have been an effective tool used by the Department of Justice to help enforce comprehensive changes in police agencies that have shown a pattern and practice of violence and violation of constitutional rights.
 
At the legislative level, in March, House lawmakers approved the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a reform bill that would ban chokeholds and modify qualified immunity for law enforcement which would make it easier to pursue lawsuits for police misconduct. The legislation would also ban no-knock warrants in certain cases, mandate data collection on police encounters, prohibit racial and religious profiling, and redirect funding to community-based policing programs. The bill heads to the Senate next for consideration. 
 
The State Level: Recently, Colorado, Connecticut, New Mexico, and New York City have either ended qualified immunity altogether or limited its application in court cases. Qualified immunity is a legal term that refers to legal protections that shield police from civil liability for misconduct and excessive force alleged during their duties. In California, there are a wide variety of new proposed laws aimed at addressing police-related violence including S.B. 2, sponsored by Senator Steven Bradford, which would amend but not terminate qualified immunity in California. Other recent laws passed in California intended to reform police practices were AB 1185 which enhanced oversight for a sheriff’s office by authorizing independent investigations and subpoenas, AB 392 which redefined the circumstances under which deadly force can be legally justified when used by a police officer, and SB 1421 and AB 748 which expanded the ability of the public to obtain confidential police officer personnel records. 
 
The Courts:  In 1982, the Supreme Court of the United States solidified the doctrine of “qualified immunity” through their decision in Harlow v. Fitzgerald- 457 U.S. 800 making it extremely difficult to sue a government agent for misconduct or excessive force. Qualified immunity is relevant to discussions about police abuse because it is often argued that police officers act with impunity knowing that it is virtually unheard of to sue a law enforcement officer and find them liable when they were acting in their capacity as a “state actor.” Recently, the Supreme Court issued reversals in three cases opening the door for plaintiffs to sue a “state actor” including police officers. In Taylor v. Riojas (2020) 141 S. Ct. 52 and McCoy v. Alamu (2021) U.S. LEXIS 768, the state actor was a prison guard, in Tanzin v. Tanvir (2020) 141 S. Ct. 486, the state actors were FBI agents. The decisions in these cases did not overturn the qualified immunity rule, but they did provide hope that the high Court may be loosening restrictions for people to sue in cases where they believe their civil rights were violated by government agents including police officers. 
 
In Sonoma County: Locally, we have experienced a revitalization of mass protest over issues of police abuse in Sonoma County similar to that seen throughout other parts of our nation. Protest is a valuable component of compelling social change because it brings attention to issues that are important to the community. Protest also serves as a poignant reminder to local leaders that excessive force and police violence are issues that are vital to the health and safety of this community and we want to have a role in the way our community is policed. During the November of 2020 election, Sonoma County voters overwhelmingly approved Measure P which significantly expanded IOLERO’s ability to do the work on law enforcement oversight. 

While we still have a long way to go, there are signs that local law enforcement agencies hear the demands for police reform and are interested in making changes with the communities they serve to improve police practices. In the past two years, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office has accepted recommendations from IOLERO to change policies that make arrestees and immigrants safer (these policies were implemented last year), to increase training in implicit bias and de-escalation, and to implement a new de-escalation policy. The new de-escalation policy recommended by Director Navarro is being written by the CAC and will be presented to the community for its feedback at the June CAC meeting. The Sheriff’s new training program will now include biased policing (implicit bias) and de-escalation in all quarterly trainings beginning on May 10, 2021. 
 
These are just some of the movements for change happening in our nation and our Sonoma County community focusing on reforming police practices in the United States. It can be challenging to stay hopeful as we dredge through story after heartbreaking story of police encounters that went irreversibly wrong. As more and more Americans take notice of the need for change in the area of policing, I hope that these efforts bring you hope and that we can work together as a community to realize these changes and make our communities a better, safer place for all of us.
In-person visits at the Sonoma County Jail
In-person visiting was suspended at the jail during the pandemic to prevent outbreaks of the deadly virus within the facility. Throughout the pandemic, the jail provided some free phone calls to allow inmates to stay in touch with their loved ones. In January of this year, IOLERO director Karlene Navarro worked with the Sheriff’s Office to provide free, daily phone calls for people who are incarcerated while in-person visits are suspended so that they can have more contact and connection with the outside world.

As Sonoma County entered the orange tier in early April, management at the Sonoma County Jail has been working on a plan to safely re-implement in-person visiting. Jail management reports that in-person visiting will resume on May 1st, 2021 on a limited basis by appointment only. Masks and health screenings will be required during in-person visits.

Detailed information about the reinstatement of in-person visiting will be posted on the Sonoma County Sheriff's website on or about April 22nd. Check here for updates.
The CAC's May Meeting
As you may recall from our past newsletters and IOLERO's 2019-2020 Annual Report, IOLERO and the CAC partnered with Sonoma State University (SSU) and Redwood Consulting Collective to design a high-functioning Community-Oriented Policing Program that will help the community and the Sheriff's Office work together to improve policing and quality of life for everyone in the community.
 
Read The Press Democrat articles about IOLERO’s Community-Oriented Policing Project here: 
 
 
 
The May CAC meeting will present an overview of the research study being conducted by SSU to inform IOLERO’s community-oriented policing program. Specifically, we will review the study design and draft of the Strategic Learning Questions (SLQs) that will frame the study. The CAC will have the opportunity to ask questions about the study, provide input on the SLQs that the research team has developed, and suggest additional questions. Community input will also be solicited through public comment.
 
The strategic learning questions on which the researchers will be seeking community feedback are these: 

  1. How do members of the community define "Community-Oriented Policing?"While the research literature provides a definition of this concept, we are interested to learn how different members of the community and the SCSO define community policing.
  2. Do community members perceive community-oriented policing differently than law enforcement officers? If so, how do these perceptions differ?
  3. When community members think of community-oriented policing, what examples come to mind? We’re interested in hearing local examples or examples they’ve heard of from other places.
  4. What community-oriented policing practices does the SCSO currently engage in? We’re interested in learning if these practices are formal or informal, sporadic or consistent, voluntary or required.
  5. How does the SCSO communicate its expectations related to community-oriented policing to its deputies? As part of this question, we’re interested in learning about the extent to which SCSO training addresses elements of community-oriented policing.
  6. How does the SCSO evaluate the extent to which their deputies are engaging in community-oriented policing practices and how does this factor into the annual evaluations of deputies?
  7. What do community members think results from community-oriented policing practices? We are interested in learning what impact the community expects to see from community-oriented policing. We want to find out if there are examples of this impact in Sonoma County and specifically with the SCSO.
  8. What is the nature of the current relationship between community members and the SCSO? We are interested in learning about perceptions of the SCSO and relationships with the SCSO among different groups within the community. We also want to learn about the specific practices that SCSO deputies are engaged in to build relationships with community members in their areas.
  9. What are community members’ priorities in regards to the SCSO and community-oriented policing?

The agenda will be posted at least three business days in advance of the meeting. As always, you may access the agenda, minutes and recordings of the CAC meetings here.
The CAC's guests include:
Dr. Silvana McCormick
Dr. Silvana McCormick is the Executive Director of Redwood Consulting Collective, an applied research, evaluation, and consulting firm based in Santa Rosa. She has extensive experience in designing and implementing research studies in community settings. Dr. McCormick serves as an advisor for the community-oriented policing project partnership between IOLERO and SSU. She holds a Ph.D. in Psychology with a concentration in Applied Research and Program Evaluation from Claremont Graduate University.
Dr. Emily K. Asencio
Dr. Emily K. Asencio holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from University of California, Riverside. Her research specialties include Criminology, Criminal Justice, and Social Psychology. Prior work includes evaluations of Crisis Intervention Training for law enforcement in the State of Ohio, the Riverside County Mental Health Court, and Project Bridge among others. She has been a Professor in the Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies (CCJS) Department at Sonoma State University since 2014, and is currently the Internship Program Coordinator for the CCJS Department. Dr. Asencio teaches classes in Criminology and Juvenile Justice at Sonoma State, and is currently mentoring four Criminology students who are IOLERO interns on Community Policing research.
This meeting will be held virtually on May 3rd at 6 pm. The agenda is posted at least 72 hours before each meeting. CAC agendas, minutes and recordings can be found in this link.
To read IOLERO’s other newsletters and updates, please visit our website.
INDEPENDENT OFFICE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT REVIEW AND OUTREACH | [IOLERO] 

Karlene Navarro, Esq., Director
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