FAIRFIELD — The 2020-21 Solano County civil grand jury concluded that new law enforcement recruits are closely scrutinized “to ensure extremist ideology is not infiltrating their departments,” but area agencies do not monitor existing employees.
“The civil grand jury met with the administration of each law
enforcement agency in Solano County (except Vallejo), including the Sheriff’s
Department, and inquired as to what, if anything, they are doing to ensure
extremist ideology is not infiltrating their departments,” the grand jury
report released Wednesday stated.
“They all advised the civil grand jury that they very carefully
vet applicants to their departments, but none actively monitor current
employees. Each stated that the only way they would know of the need to
investigate is if a citizen or co-worker makes them aware of the behavior that
indicates extremist views,” the report states.
Three of the 11 recommendations attached to six findings state
that law enforcement agencies need to be more proactive about supervising their
current forces.
“Solano County law enforcement agencies monitor social media
postings by current staff for extremist content,” one of the three
recommendations to the sixth finding states.
The grand jury also recommends, “Law enforcement agency
administrations keep up with the technology that their employees are using,”
and that, “Law enforcement agency administrations research and implement
technology which assists in monitoring social media without violating First
Amendment rights.”
The report also states that the grand jury “found that law
enforcement in the county followed the guidelines defined by California
statutory law, established through the Commission on Peace Officer Standards
and Training.”
The issue of extremism arises because at least three Sheriff’s
Office officers posted on their private social media platforms images of the “3
Percenters.”
“The (3) Percenters are a loose-knit collection of far-right
extremists characterized by anti-government, pro-gun views, and a willingness
to defy the federal government violently,” the grand jury report states.
It notes that members of the group participated in the Jan. 6
insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, one of whom has been charged with federal
crimes related to that deadly riot.
“Solano County Sheriff’s Office administrators . . . concluded
that the individuals identified in the (Vallejo news) report were ‘pro-Second
Amendment’ but did not espouse far-right extremist ideology. They claimed that
the FBI advised them no Sheriff’s Office employees are on their ‘watch list’
for involvement in any extremist organizations.”
However, the civil grand jury report also noted that the FBI has
denied those claims.
The Sheriff’s Office had not yet filed its response to the grand
jury report, and Sheriff Tom Ferrara, through the department spokesman, has
declined to be interviewed by the Daily Republic. He agreed to an interview
when announcing his 2022 re-election bid.
Efforts by the public, and specifically members of Black Lives
Matter in Benicia, to have the Board of Supervisors look into the Sheriff’s
Office have been met by silence, with the exception of Supervisor Monica Brown,
who made a motion to convene a commission to look into the matter and got no
support from board Chairman John Vasquez, nor Supervisors Erin Hannigan, Jim
Spering or Mitch Mashburn.
Mashburn, a 32-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, said he had
never experienced any behavior within the department that would raise red
flags in terms of extremists.
“That agency is doing a great job. It is one of the best
sheriff’s agencies . . . in the state,” Mashburn said.
The police departments in Benicia, Dixon, Fairfield, Rio Vista,
Suisun City and Vacaville had not filed responses, either, although they are
not mentioned specifically in the report.
Part of the gravity of this matter comes from a published FBI
warning that white supremacists seek to infiltrate law enforcement.
The findings and recommendations from the grand jury report are:
FINDING 1: The Solano County civil grand jury found that local
law enforcement agencies comply with the statutory requirements when providing
training. However, bias training is only required and conducted every five years.
Local law enforcement administrations agreed there is too much time between
training sessions.
RECOMMENDATION 1: County law enforcement agencies adopt a more frequent
schedule of diversity and bias training over and above the current five-year
requirement.
FINDING 2: Most law enforcement administrations identified lack
of adequate funding as an impairment to providing additional and/or more
frequent training.
RECOMMENDATION 2a: Law enforcement administrations seek increased funding for
diversity and bias training.
RECOMMENDATION 2b: Collaborate with other local law enforcement agencies in
providing diversity and bias training.
FINDING 3: More under-represented people need to be represented
in decision-making roles.
RECOMMENDATION 1: Law enforcement agencies promote more under-represented
people to decision-making positions.
FINDING 4: California Penal Code Section 13651(a) states: “Every
police department, sheriff’s office, or other entity that employs peace
officers shall review the job description that is used in the recruitment and
hiring of those peace officers and shall make changes that emphasize
community-based policing, familiarization between law enforcement and community
residents, and collaborative problem-solving, while de-emphasizing the
paramilitary aspects of the job.” All administrators mentioned the general population’s
lack of trust of law enforcement officers.
RECOMMENDATION 4a: Ensure that training de-emphasizes a paramilitary approach
to policing.
RECOMMENDATION 4b: Use a collaborative approach with community organizations to
problem-solve.
FINDING 5: For some law enforcement agencies employee turnover
is an issue.
RECOMMENDATION 5a: Suisun City increase the length of its employment contract
to five years.
RECOMMENDATION 5b: Law enforcement agencies find ways to achieve pay equity in
the county to limit turnover in smaller communities.
FINDING 6: There are reports from the Federal Bureau of
Investigation that extremist groups are infiltrating law enforcement agencies.
While local law enforcement agencies investigate applicants as part of the
vetting process, they rely on employee and citizen complaints to identify
current staff social media postings for extremist ideology.
RECOMMENDATION 6a: Solano County law enforcement agencies monitor social media
postings by current staff for extremist content. RECOMMENDATION 6b: Law
enforcement agency administrations keep up with the technology that their
employees are using. RECOMMENDATION 6c: Law enforcement agency administrations
research and implement technology which assists in monitoring social media
without violating First Amendment rights.
Fairfield
Daily Republic
By Todd R. Hansen
July 2, 2021
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