A Sonoma County judge denied an effort by the county’s law enforcement oversight agency to issue subpoenas in a whistleblower investigation into the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.|
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
A Sonoma County judge denied an effort by the county’s law enforcement oversight agency to issue subpoenas in a whistleblower investigation into the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.
Judge Bradford DeMeo ruled that Sonoma County’s Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach had not provided convincing evidence it had the authority to investigate whistleblower complaints.
DeMeo agreed with Sheriff Eddie Engram’s arguments that the agency only has the authority to take in those complaints and then refer them to another body.
The ruling, if it stands up to possible appeals, raises the question of whether the public will ever learn what sparked the whistleblower investigation that involved at least four sheriff’s office employees, including three sworn officers.
IOLERO has declined to describe the scope or the direction of the investigation. Its director, John Alden, on Monday said he and his attorneys were still digesting DeMeo’s ruling. He did not say whether they would appeal.
Beyond its immediate impact on the open whistleblower investigation, the court’s decision again threw into question the impact of Measure P, a ballot measure supported by a broad majority of Sonoma County voters in 2020 that has faced repeated challenges by the labor unions representing...
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