SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The California attorney general on Thursday opened a civil rights investigation into the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, one of the largest law enforcement agencies in Southern California, after deaths in the county jails hit a two-decade high last year and other allegations of excessive use of force surfaced.
Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the investigation Thursday in Los Angeles following "deeply concerning" allegations of misconduct within the sheriff's office, as well as confinement conditions at the sheriff's jails.
While Bonta said no specific incidents were a tipping point to prompt the civil rights investigation, there have been patterns in data - including disparate impacts on communities of color - that have been "disturbing for some time." Exact figures were not immediately available Tuesday.
"It is time for us to shine a light on the Riverside County Sheriff's Office and its practices," he said during a news conference.
"This announcement comes as a shock, but at the same time, should have been expected from our California DOJ and the attorney general, who cares more about politics than he does about transparency or the truth," Sheriff Chad Bianco said in response to the investigation. "Mr. Bonta has repeatedly shown he bows and caters to activists instead of hearing from all Californians, who(m) the attorney general is supposed to represent."
Bianco alleged that activists lied and gave false and misleading statements, saying that the investigation will be a "complete waste of time and resources." He added that the agency will cooperate in the investigation, as it has nothing to hide.
The state agency has similar cases open into the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Those probes are ongoing.
The attorney general has the power to open civil investigations to determine whether a law enforcement agency has "engaged in a pattern or practice" of violating state or federal law. These cases are not criminal in nature and are meant to identify potential problems and then work with the agency to correct the issues, which are typically systemic violations of a community's constitutional rights.
City News Service contributed to this report.
