FAIRFIELD-SUISUN, CALIFORNIA
California attorney general reaches settlement with Kern County sheriff, resolving 4-year civil rights probe [Los Angeles Times :: BC-CALIF-KERNCOUNTY-CIVILRIGHTS:LA]
LOS ANGELES 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, state Attorney General 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.
After a four-year investigation, the California Department of Justice has entered into a âmajor settlementâ with the Kern County Sheriffâs Office, forcing changes to the departmentâs practices.
Prompted by citizen complaints and media reports of excessive use of force by KCSO deputies, the settlement attempts to correct the issues identified by Justice Department officials while avoiding a potentially costly and protracted legal battle.
In a complaint filed in Kern County Superior Court on Tuesday, the DOJ said the Sheriffâs Office engaged in a pattern of conduct that deprived citizens of their constitutional rights and violated the law in numerous categories. However, as part of the settlement, KCSO and the county of Kern were allowed to officially deny the allegations.
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.
In a seven-page complaint filed Tuesday in Kern County Superior Court, Becerra’s deputies alleged that the sheriff’s office used excessive force on residents of Kern County, particularly with the use of its canines; carried out unreasonable stops, searches, arrests and seizures; and committed “legal violations” in using deadly force against people with mental
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The presiding judge of Kern County Superior Court on Wednesday amended an order on remote hearings for civil proceedings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Until further notice, the order said, all Metropolitan Limited and Unlimited Civil proceedings, with the exception of trials and mandatory settlement conferences, will be done via CourtCall or Zoom. Court Call can be reached at 888-882-6878, the order said. Instructions for accessing each courtroom s Zoom account are on the court website. The order said self-represented litigants who don t have a phone are exempt from the requirement and can appear in person.
The order went on to say proceedings in Metropolitan Division Small Claims and Unlawful Detainer Cases (Department 12) are not included in the order.