Press group sues Riverside County, alleging defective handling of public records

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) - A San Rafael-based press freedom advocacy group is suing Riverside County for alleged violations of a state law intended to ensure timely access to documents tied to in-custody deaths, based on significant delays in responding to media requests and other deficiencies, it was announced today.   

"Transparency in government is always essential to the functioning of a democracy,'' First Amendment Coalition attorney Aaron Field said. "But it is particularly important when it comes to deaths that occur while in the custody of law enforcement. Disclosing records about these deaths empowers the public to hold law enforcement accountable."  

FAC filed its Public Records Act civil action in response to the experiences of New York Times and Desert Sun journalist Christopher Damien, who has focused on procuring autopsy reports, jail management records, jailhouse security surveillance videos and other materials since last year.

The suit is predicated on Senate Bill 519, which the state Legislature approved and the governor signed into law in 2023. The measure stemmed in large part from the elevated death count -- 19 -- in Riverside County's correctional system in 2022, according to the plaintiffs. Lawmakers mandated via SB 519 that authorities fulfill California Public Records Act requests related to in-custody fatalities in 45 days.

"The county slow-walked the production process; withheld, redacted and delayed the disclosure of records related to several deaths ... and omitted responsive records from its production,'' according to the plaintiffs' suit. "In defiance of SB 519, the county is continuing to withhold records related to 13 (custody) deaths and is standing by numerous improper redactions.''   

FAC's attorneys also noted the ``county spent months seeking to charge petitioners processing fees that the Public Records Act does not allow.''   

Neither the county Executive Office or sheriff's officials immediately responded to requests for comment Friday.   

Damien's feature story on the jail system earlier this year uncovered instances where ``detainees were assigned to cells that put them at greater risk, contrary to standard practices of separating detainees by race, sexual orientation and other factors ... that could stoke conflict.'' The Times' investigation further established that the sheriff's department allegedly provided paperwork with ``inaccurate timelines'' and docs which ``omitted relevant facts and sometimes added false information, including a security check that never happened.''   

More than a dozen families have filed wrongful death and civil rights lawsuits against the county, and more particularly the sheriff's department, stemming from the in-custody deaths. As of last April, just over $13 million had been paid out by the county's liability fund following multiple case settlements, according to the plaintiffs.   

``When people die in the government's custody, their relatives and the public have the right to review the government's investigation of that death,'' Damien said. ``The Riverside County Sheriff's Department has withheld details about these investigations for far too long. California law is clear: these are public records.''   

The sheriff's correctional operations have come under scrutiny by the California Department of Justice and other entities.   

The sheriff's department regularly takes the lead among county agencies in answering lawsuits -- and making seven-figure payouts of taxpayers' money.

In July, Supervisor Jose Medina, the only Board of Supervisors' member not to have received an endorsement from the sheriff's union, sought to establish an ad-hoc oversight committee monitoring sheriff's operations, as well as an inspector general's office to conduct independent inquiries of residents' complaints. The effort would have replicated policy changes in Los Angeles, Orange, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara and  Sonoma counties.

The proposal, which Medina's fellow board members declined to support, elicited sharp criticism from Sheriff Chad Bianco, who derided it as ``a divisive solution to a non-existent problem.''

The Republican gubernatorial candidate blamed most of the difficulties in the county correctional system on drug smuggling, saying ``we cannot be held responsible for inmates smuggling fentanyl into jails through their anal cavity or other orifices and then using the drugs later (with sometimes fatal consequences).''

He insisted the department, under his watch since 2019, is ``the most transparent law enforcement agency in the country.''   

The plaintiffs are seeking a release of all requested documents stemming from the Times' investigation, findings that the county has violated the state Government and Penal codes by failing to respond to records requests and the recovery of all fees incurred by the plaintiffs in the civil action.