The Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 Tuesday to give the Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board greater power to investigate in- custody deaths in response to numerous deaths in San Diego County jails.
The motion by Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe allows the oversight board to"investigate any employee or contractor" working under sheriff's or probation departments direction, including contracted health care providers, but only in-custody death cases.
The vote follows public outcry over numerous deaths in San Diego County jails, which has led to the county paying out millions of dollars in legal settlements over in-custody deaths. The county was ordered in July to pay $15 million to the family of Elisa Serna, who died in November 2019 in the Las Colinas Detention Facility.
CLERB must also update its rules and regulations, and report back to the Board of Supervisors within 60 days. Brett Kalina, CLERB's executive officer, thanked supervisors for reviewing policy and"listening to the community on this." During public comment, supervisors heard from family members of inmates who died in custody, along with justice reform advocates.
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