Marin supervisors and residents expressed support last week for oversight of the sheriff’s office under a new bill that lets counties establish a civilian committee to hear complaints, issue subpoenas, investigate the sheriff and publish findings.
At a forum hosted by the county’s Human Rights Commission, every speaker except for Sheriff Robert Doyle spoke in favor of an oversight board, including the two supervisors in attendance, Damon Connolly and Judy Arnold.
“The case for oversight is clear: The experiences of communities of color and white communities in Marin are not the same,” Supervisor Connolly said. “The opportunity presents itself to address these institutional issues in a way that promotes trust and accountability… I believe the question is not if, but how.”
Under A.B. 1185, an oversight board can be established by a vote of supervisors or county residents. The county decides how the board is funded, what powers it has and what form it takes. The county can also establish an office of the inspector general to assist with oversight.
Assemblyman Kevin McCarty joined the forum from Sacramento to talk about why he authored the bill, which became law in January. Although he didn’t speak specifically to Marin, he explained that too many public dollars go toward settlements for excessive force, and sometimes a sheriff thinks he is above the law.
“I feel, and my colleagues and the governor felt, that more accountability and transparency is important,” he said. “What happens with a county sheriff’s department is really important to the overall fiscal health of a county, plus right and wrong as far as behavior.”
There are more than 160 oversight committees in the United States, mostly in cities, according to the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement. Each has different powers and roles. Until A.B. 1185 passed, it was unclear whether counties had the authority to establish oversight boards, and now counties around California are having similar conversations about the new law.
Sheriff Doyle defended his department from criticism. He suggested reinstituting a citizen’s advisory council instead, and he argued that state law prohibits supervisors from impacting the functions of the sheriff. He defined oversight as being able to tell him what to do.
“That body or person would have investigative authority and subpoena authority, but nowhere in the legislation does it provide for oversight,” he said.
The sheriff’s office has received 14 civilian complaints in the last six years.
“Our record speaks for itself,” he said.
Renee Cormier, an Inverness resident, said an oversight board would be a safe place to report misconduct, because it is hard for people to complain about the sheriff to the sheriff. It would improve accountability, because elections are only every four years and there are no term limits, and it would be proactive, pushing the department to evolve and improve with input, she said.
Marianne Recher, a lawyer and another Inverness resident, said an oversight board would collect and analyze data, then use that data to issue recommendations and bring underlying issues to light.
Several people of color spoke to the fear they feel when their children start to drive. Mill Valley resident Anne Graham said her Latina and biracial daughters had been singled out by police, and they socially isolated while growing up because they felt different.
“I can’t tell you how much it would mean to me as a mother, and to my children, my whole family really to have an oversight committee,” she said. “And I think it could be something that would be beneficial for our law enforcement as well… I think it would be something that has the potential to really flow both ways and provide advantages to communities and law enforcement both.”
Supervisor Dennis Rodoni told the Light that he won’t take a position until it comes to a vote, but he welcomes input.
The conversation comes at a time of change: Marin will elect a new sheriff for the first time in 28 years on June 7, 2022. Sheriff Doyle was appointed in 1996 and has been elected six times, only once in a contested election. His undersheriff, Jamie Scardina, is running against Adam McGill, Novato’s city manager and former police chief.
Mr. McGill attended last week’s forum and spoke in favor of oversight. He talked about how the nation’s history of race-based oppression is entwined with policing and said that trust is the best way to create a safer community. Police must adapt to the times, and oversight often showcases the good work that police departments do, he said.
“A rigid mindset steeped in antiquated thinking is no longer sufficient to meet the future needs of policing or those we serve,” he said.
Mr. McGill appeared with a campaign banner behind him and shared a link to his website. At the end of the meeting, Sheriff Doyle said Mr. McGill’s campaigning was inappropriate, and that he told Mr. Scardina not to present materials at the forum because he didn’t think it was a political event. The Light requested comment from Mr. Scardina after the forum, and the request was returned by Sheriff Doyle.
Sheriff Doyle told the Light that oversight is not necessary because his policing practices align with what the Board of Supervisors wants, except in the case of his cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He said he follows state law in accepting and investigating civilian complaints, and the people who spoke do not represent the majority opinion of Marin residents.
“The people of Marin are reasonable, and some of these folks that tune in want these dramatic, drastic things to happen. They don’t represent the community—they represent the community that yells the loudest and shows up,” he said.
But Samantha Ramirez, an outspoken San Rafael resident and program coordinator for the Youth Leadership Institute, said the silent majority who wasn’t represented are the young people who carry trauma from ICE raids and other negative interactions with the police. “We don’t even know the depths of the issues because people are so scared to talk about them,” she said.
The meeting was spearheaded by a group of Inverness residents: Ms. Recher, Ms. Cormier, Tom Gardali, Molly Livingston, Richard Vallejos and Camille Ptak. They began meeting for happy hour during the pandemic to maintain their sanity, but after George Floyd was murdered and the Black Lives Matter movement swept the nation, their conversations grew more serious. The group felt they had the privilege and opportunity to make changes locally. They participated in marches and met informally with Supervisor Rodoni to talk about racial justice, and Ms. Ptak represented the group on the sheriff’s committee to review use-of-force policies. They invited a speaker from the California Budget and Policy Center to speak about county budgets following Marin’s budget hearings, when scores of callers asked supervisors to reduce the sheriff’s budget.
When A.B. 1185 made its way through the state legislature, the group followed the bill, and when it was enacted, they met with other organizations that worked on these issues, including Indivisible West Marin, Showing up for Racial Justice Marin, Legal Aid of Marin and the Phoenix Project of Marin. It seemed like people were interested in the idea of oversight, and the Human Rights Commission decided to host a community forum—the first of many conversations, commissioner Helen Castillo said.