December
19, 2014
The
Sacramento Bee
By
Darrell Smith
An independent panel, in a new
report, has called on Yolo County Sheriff Ed Prieto to build trust with those
under his command, allay fears of retaliation and emphasize community policing.
The 31-page review by a panel
led by former Woodland Mayor Marlin “Skip” Davies found a department plagued by
low morale and rank-and-file employees who believed they couldn’t speak openly
with Prieto about their issues and concerns for fear of retaliation.
“The fear of personal
vulnerability clearly has a chilling effect on employees’ willingness to speak
candidly with the Sheriff and his leadership team,” the November report stated.
The Davies panel had more
measured findings than the Yolo County grand jury did in June. The grand jury
labeled Prieto’s leadership style as a relic of the “wild, wild West” and found
instances of harassment, intimidation and nepotism by the sheriff.
Prieto also caught heat at the
time from Yolo County Supervisors Don Saylor and Matt Rexroad, who led the
Board of Supervisors’ efforts to investigate Prieto’s office. Rexroad said the
sheriff did not “uphold Yolo traditions” after the grand jury released its
report. The board also asked the 2014-15 grand jury in August to conduct
another review to examine new complaints.
Rexroad declined to comment
this week on the Davies panel’s findings. Saylor could not be reached this
week.
Prieto is an imposing figure,
physically and politically. He has been Yolo County sheriff since 1998 and was
re-elected in June after facing no opposition. The grand jury, in its report
over the summer, said he ruled over his department through intimidation.
But in an interview, Prieto
seemed puzzled by the assertion.
“I don’t know what they
perceive as retaliation. I don’t know who has been retaliated against,” Prieto
said.
Though Prieto said he has “zero
tolerance for retaliation,” he noted the perceived fear among some shows
“there’s things we have to work on.”
Davies’ group surveyed workers
confidentially Aug. 14-27. In all, 166 of 265 employees responded, according to
sheriff’s officials.
In response, the independent
panel called on Prieto to foster a “culture of trust” with his sworn and other
personnel.
The panel cited a widely held
perception of nepotism – his two daughters and friends work for the Sheriff’s
Office – that remains held by the force.
The panel also said the
department overemphasizes arrest numbers at the expense of more robust
community policing. The report’s authors scolded Prieto and his command staff
for relying too much on the data as a gauge of performance, a perception that
staffers said has led to increased patrols in areas more likely to generate
arrests, leaving fewer deputies to patrol rural Yolo County.
“The current practices have
been taken to an extreme,” the report reads.
Prieto maintained that he
remains committed to community policing.
“My style is that (the deputy)
has to arrest, but he also has to reach out.”
He pointed to resident deputies
in Clarksburg and other more remote Yolo communities, and monthly town halls
where deputies meet with residents.
If the report’s aim is a
kinder, gentler – or at least more receptive – sheriff, Prieto says he’s
listening.
Prieto said he’s “clearly
initiated steps” to improve communication and morale in his ranks, doing more
to be more approachable. He said he has launched an internal newsletter, met
more often with deputies and staff and attended deputies’ and correctional
officers’ training days and briefings.
Prieto also chose Undersheriff
Tom Lopez to create a task force of representatives from the department’s
bargaining units “to focus on making improvements in the areas addressed in the
survey.”
“I think communication is
something we’re going to address,” Prieto said.
Call The Bee’s Darrell Smith,
(916) 321-1040.
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