When I called, she answered and I asked, âMay I please speak to Judge Wendy Avila?â She answered with a chuckle and said, âI need to get used to that!â
The governorâs office recently announced the appointment of Wendy Avila as one of three new judges assigned to the Kern County Superior Court.
On Jan. 11, she begins her tenure as the Honorable Wendy Avila, Judge, Juvenile Court of Kern County. Although Wendy and I have traveled in similar social circles for more than 25 years, she was an enigma to me. In those 25 years, she and I rarely spoke. She was serious and focused whenever our paths did cross. Although I knew little about Wendy, she seemed to always be in the right place at the right time to help create opportunities for those in most need.
Dec. 23—A settlement agreement between the California Department of Justice and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office was met with mixed reactions the day after its announcement.
The agreement requires KCSO to enact an extensive list of reforms over the next five years aimed at ensuring the d
A settlement agreement between the California Department of Justice and the Kern County Sheriffâs Office was met with mixed reactions the day after its announcement.
The agreement requires KCSO to enact an extensive list of reforms over the next five years aimed at ensuring the department protects citizensâ constitutional rights and treats individuals with respect and dignity.
After a four-year investigation into the Sheriffâs Office, the state DOJ determined the department had engaged in a pattern of constitutional violations involving improper use of force, unreasonable searches and seizures and inadequate management. The DOJ also alleged KCSO violated state law in its use of deadly force against individuals with disabilities, failure to provide equal employment opportunities and its handling of civilian complaints.
Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood announces major reforms for his office on the use of excessive force as part of a settlement with the California Attorney General’s Office. (Screenshot provided by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office)
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (CN) Sheriff’s officers in Kern County, California, must stop using chokeholds while in the field and will be able to stop their colleagues if they see them use the move, the California Attorney General’s Office said Tuesday in announcing a major settlement between the county and state.
A pattern of vicious police dog attacks, beatings and deadly shootings reportedly carried out by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office against unarmed people prompted an investigation by the state attorney general four years ago.
Becerra reaches settlement with Kern County sheriff, resolving four-year civil rights probe [Los Angeles Times]
The Kern County Sheriff’s Office and the California Department of Justice have resolved a four-year investigation of potential civil rights abuses with a settlement that implements modest reforms and places the sheriff’s office under oversight from an outside monitor, Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said Tuesday.
Becerra had overseen an investigation opened in 2016 by his predecessor, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, that probed civilian complaints of excessive force and other misconduct by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office and the Bakersfield Police Department. The investigation was civil not criminal in nature.