The California Office of Attorney General has launched an investigation into whether the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department policing practices have violated civil rights, citing allegations related to deaths in the county’s jails, excessive force and other misconduct.
Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Thursday that his investigators will be seeking information about whether Sheriff Chad Bianco’s department has taken part in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional conduct in violation of state or federal law.
“All Californians deserve fairness and respect from the institutions that serve them,” Bonta said in a statement. “When some communities don’t see or feel they are being treated equitably by law enforcement, it contributes to distrust and hurts public safety. Unfortunately, it is clear that — amid concerning levels of in-custody deaths and allegations of misconduct — too many families and communities in Riverside County are hurting and looking for answers.
“As part of my office’s ongoing efforts to support constitutional policing, the California Department of Justice is opening a civil rights investigation into the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. Whether you have a loved one in jail or are worried about crime in your neighborhood, we all benefit when there is action to ensure the integrity of policing in our state.”
Bonta clarified that a pattern or practice investigation is different from a criminal investigation of a particular incident or person, but is meant to identify wrongdoing and compel the correction of systemic constitutional violations. He added his department has not made any determination and said the investigation will be impartial.
Sources with knowledge of the department’s history said it’s the first OAG pattern or practice investigation of the Riverside County sheriff in the department’s history.
The announcement comes as 20 inmates have died in the county’s jails since January 2022, often with the department releasing scant information about the individuals and virtually no public discussion of how to stop further loss of life. The 18 deaths in 2022 are the most the county has recorded in more than a decade, according to public records that are readily available going back to 2005.
That’s the same number that triggered an investigation by the California State Auditor of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department in 2021, which found that a county oversight board was lacking and, in part, recommended the OAG’s office expand its role there.