Tulare County Grand Jury seeks probe of shooting near Exeter Police Department firing range

The Tulare County Grand Jury wants prosecutors to reopen the investigation into an accidental 2009 shooting near the Exeter Police Department's firing range.

On Saturday, the Grand Jury released its final report for 2010. The centerpiece: an examination of the shooting incident headlined "Lack of common sense or negligence?"

Leland Perryman was shot as he and his wife, Judy, were walking their dogs in an orchard near their home east of Exeter. The bullet hit Perryman beneath the right shoulder blade, puncturing a lung and breaking a rib.

The .40-caliber bullet that hit Perryman likely came from the shooting range, where Woodlake officers were training. The city of Woodlake and Perryman eventually reached a settlement, but Tulare County District Attorney's Office investigators found no evidence of a crime.

The Grand Jury, however, calls for prosecutors to reopen the investigation. Its report states that safety rules were not followed and chides the Woodlake Police Department and its chief, John Zapalac, for not working with Sheriff's Department investigators.

The Grand Jury is charged with investigating complaints regarding public agencies throughout Tulare County. This year's annual report detailed 23 inquiries, ranging from high school bullying to speed traps.

The jury is made up of 18 volunteers who are chosen by the Tulare County Superior Court through a process involving interviews and a random lottery.

Among its other findings:

# Jail inmates are receiving medical care that's "barely sufficient or satisfactory" and inmates' medication needs are being used as a disciplinary tool.

# The county's code-enforcement division is overwhelmed. The county is missing out on revenue by not enforcing fines, fees and penalties.

# Evaluating the operations of the county's foster family program is difficult because the Child Welfare Services program did not grant jurors access to case files or allow jurors to observe court hearings or escort caseworkers on home visits.

# The county's Resource Management Agency does not change speed limits on county roads in a timely manner after engineering and traffic surveys.

# The Tulare City Council violated California open-meeting laws — collectively known as the Brown Act — when a city councilman paid for an environmental study of the proposed motor sports complex without first gaining the consent of the rest of the City Council.

# Members of the Tulare County Planning Commission arrive to meetings late and use their cell phones during meetings.

http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20100705/NEWS01/7050305/Tulare-County-Grand-Jury-seeks-probe-of-shooting-near-Exeter-Police-Department-firing-range