October 31st, 2023

Chair, Board of Supervisors, County of Riverside

Via Email

Re: Community Demands for Sheriff Accountability

Dear Riverside County Board of Supervisors,

The undersigned organizations and individuals join in urging your body to take immediate action to
address harms committed by the fatally dysfunctional Riverside County Sheriff's Department (RSD). It is
with great urgency that we demand immediate action to ensure the safety, well-being, and equitable
treatment of all Riverside County residents, including those incarcerated in our jails. Sheriff Bianco’s
refusal to protect individuals in custody and his failure to rein in misconduct within the department are
clear indicators of his inability to execute the most basic functions of his post. As the fiduciary agents of
the Sheriff’s Department, it is your responsibility to take appropriate action in response to systemic
dysfunction.

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To that end, we present the following demands:

1. Establish an Oversight Body with Subpoena Power:

We demand that the County establish an independent oversight body with subpoena power and
establish an Office of Inspector General to enable greater transparency and accountability from
the Sheriff’s Department to the community. The current lack of independent oversight has
allowed misconduct and abuses to persist with no one to hold law enforcement accountable or
review their actions. Other existing oversight bodies such as the Civilian Grand Jury and the
Board of State and Community Corrections have been ineffective in curbing the abuses of RSD.
Under AB1185 (CA Code 25303.71), any county in California has authority to create a sheriff
oversight board and an Office of the Inspector General. Riverside County should follow the lead
of other counties2 across the state and work with community leaders, including signatories of this
letter, to facilitate this process.

2. Fund Alternatives to Incarceration:

We demand that the County cease the endless funding of a sheriff's department that has repeatedly
demonstrated a lack of accountability and an alarming number of avoidable jail deaths. RSD’s
dysfunction comes with a hefty price tag for Riverside residents, with taxpayers on the hook for
deputy misconduct lawsuits and irresponsible uses of staff time.

The Board unanimously voted to increase funding for RSD when other critical services continue
to go underfunded. RSD has cost the County upwards of $77 million for police misconduct ($63
million for excessive force and $12 million for false arrests) between 2010 and 2020.3 With 2.5
million residents, Riverside County spent significantly more ($77M) than nearby Orange County,
which has 3.2 million residents but only paid out $14 million. Some RSD deputies were
repeatedly responsible for settlements. Deputy Frederick Martinez had three cases of excessive
force that totaled $2.3 million. These numbers also do not take into account recent misconduct in
2023, such as the cost Deputy Christian Heidecker will incur on the county for his extortion of
women on monitored release. Moreover, the County is facing numerous lawsuits by families who
tragically lost loved ones in Riverside County custody in 2022, the deadliest year for people
incarcerated in our County jails in 15 years.4

RSD staff time is also spent irresponsibly, leaving the community less safe and with fewer
taxpayer dollars spent on much needed services. The vast majority of RSD time spent on stops
(87.6%, or 7,697 hours) was for officer-initiated stops, targeting community members for stops

1
AB-1185 County board of supervisors: sheriff oversight.(2019-2020)
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billCompareClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB1185&showamends=false
2
California counties team up to push for sheriff's oversight, August 2023. RWC Pulse.
https://www.rwcpulse.com/location/san-mateo-county/california-counties-team-up-to-push-for-sheriffs-oversight-7381632
3
“Riverside County paid $77M in settlements for police misconduct: report,” March 12, 2022. News Channel 3.
https://kesq.com/news/2022/03/11/riverside-county-paid-77m-in-settlements-for-police-misconduct-report/#:~:text=From%202010%2
0to%202020%2C%20Riverside,%2C%20Phoenix%2C%20Dallas%20and%20Miami
4
“Federal lawsuits mount against Riverside County sheriff over surge in jail deaths,” June 1, 2023. Desert Sun.
https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/crime_courts/2023/06/01/federal-lawsuits-mount-against-riverside-county-sheriff-over-jail-dea
ths/70273695007/

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 rather than responding to calls for service from the public.5 Less than one percent of these stops
were based on suspicion of a crime that would qualify as a felony. These unproductive practices
cost the county more than $392 million in patrol salaries annually.

Meanwhile, 90% of those detained in Riverside custody are pre-trial and legally innocent,6 yet
subjected to horrifying and sometimes fatal conditions of confinement. Fatal and abusive
conditions have persisted despite an ongoing consent decree with the Prison Law Office and an
open investigation from the California Department of Justice. We reject the assumption that our
communities must continue to suffer under these conditions; there are other options. RSD has
made it clear that their department will not be reformed. It is the Board’s responsibility, then, to
invest in community-based alternatives to incarceration for thousands of unconvicted community
members.

3. Separate the Offices of Sheriff and Coroner:

We demand that the County takes immediate steps to separate the offices of Sheriff and Coroner.
Several other California counties have already separated their Sheriff and Coroners’ offices7 to
increase transparency, remove potential conflicts of interest, and improve objectivity in the
process of determining the cause of death of an individual, including in-custody deaths. There is
currently a substantial conflict of interest in the Sheriff-Coroner’s review of officer-involved
deaths and in-custody deaths, which disproportionately impacts communities of color. An
independent examiner would conduct autopsies from a medical standpoint, without the undue
influences of protecting the officers or departments involved. Studies support this separation; it is
proven that Coroners operating under Sheriff’s Departments are more likely to underreport
officer-involved deaths.8

Families who lost loved ones in Riverside jails have noted these same issues outlined above.
Additionally, many families have yet to receive autopsy reports one year after their loved one’s
death. The separation of these offices reduces the perception that the process is unduly influenced
by law enforcement. This is crucial, considering rapidly disintegrating trust in RSD to conduct
their responsibilities with transparency.

We are committed to working collaboratively with the entire Board of Supervisors to achieve these
essential accountability measures. We believe that by addressing these demands, we can take the

5
“Reimagining Community Safety in California,” October 2022. ACLU SoCal.
https://www.aclusocal.org/sites/default/files/catalyst_ca_aclu_-_reimagining_community_safety_2022.pdf
6
“BSCC Jail Profile Survey,” Board of State and Community Corrections, 2022.
https://www.bscc.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/Jail-Pop-Trends-Through-Q3-2022.pdf

7
“Santa Clara County: Sheriff, coroner offices headed for split,” Aug 21, 2016.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2016/08/21/santa-clara-county-sheriff-coroner-offices-headed-for-split/#:~:text=SAN%20JOSE%20%
E2%80%94%20The%2012%2Dyear,examiner's%20office%2C%20independent%20since%201962.
8
“Study shows California counties overseen by a coroner who is also sheriff underreport officer-involved deaths”. February 9th
2023. USC Dornsife.
https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/study-shows-california-counties-overseen-by-a-coroner-who-is-also-sheriff-underreport-officer-i
nvolved-deaths/

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necessary steps to make our County a place that is accountable, transparent, and committed to justice for
all, not just some.

Sincerely,

Organizations
American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California
Californians United for a Responsible Budget
Care First California
Centro Del Inmigrante
Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice
Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement
Dare to Empower Foundation
IE United
Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice
Inland Empire Community Land Trust
Inland Empire Immigrant Youth Collective
Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity
Justice LA
La Defensa
National Association for Women California - Riverside Chapter
North County Equity & Justice Coalition
People’s Budget OC
Pomona Economic Opportunity Center
Riverside All of Us or None
Sigma Beta Xi Inc.
SoCal OSH
Starting Over, Inc.
Stop the Musick Coalition
Transforming Justice Orange County
Underground Scholars Initiative
Urban Social Services and Advocacy

Individuals
Alan Vargas
Amanda Soto
Caitlin McGinnis
Chani Beeman
Dylan Rodriguez
Geri Silva
Jose Medina, Former State Assemblymember
Mai Tran
Max Strawn
Suzanne Singer