Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/office-of-independent-review/)
The family’s legal action and calls for more information adds more controversy to the incident that’s being probed by the Sheriff’s Dept. and the District Attorney’s office.
The deputy shooting death of Kurt Reinhold will be investigated by the Office of Independent Review. The Orange County Sheriff’s Dept. and District Attorney’s office will conduct their own probes.
Sheriff Don Barnes’ spokeswoman declined to say why county supervisors and the district attorney weren’t told of the scale of the issue sooner.
Former District Attorney Tony Rackauckas quietly decided last year to not have prosecutors tell defense attorneys about 10 sheriff deputies suspected of lying about or concealing records about jail informants.
The supervisors’ most immediate action was to take control of the county’s internal auditors, who are supposed to function as watchdogs against fraud in county departments and currently report to the county’s independently-elected auditor-controller, Eric Woolery.
Orange County supervisors moved Tuesday to remove independent oversight of their actions, county finances, and the practices of the Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney’s Office.
A plan by Orange County supervisors to hire a former state prosecutor to be the director of the county’s Office of Independent Review has been scuttled. Supervisors apparently jumped gun on announcing the deal, and now are back to square one in their search.
Orange County supervisors announced Tuesday that they’ve picked Gary Schons, a prosecutor with decades of experience investigating public corruption in Southern California, to head the county’s Office of Independent Review.
For the past nine months, Orange County’s watchdog agency has been left without a director. But that could change with a possible vote Tuesday by county supervisors to appoint the new head of the Office of Independent Review.
Amid an ongoing scandal over misuse of jailhouse informants, Sheriff Sandra Hutchens received unanimous approval from county supervisors to hire a “constitutional policing” advisor who would report directly to her.