The Orange County Sheriff's Department has now begun releasing its official records on deputy-involved shootings and other uses of force, along with allegations of sexual assaults and dishonesty by deputies.
Those documents started being posted on the Department's website this morning, as Sheriff Don Barnes had promised after being accused of dragging his feet in making them public as required by new state law. In a message on the website, the Sheriff says O-C deputies use force VERY sparingly -- and that it happened in just one-tenth of one percent of the cases they handled last year. And he asks the public to review the records carefully and fairly.
In a message from Sheriff Barns:
"Senate Bill 1421 took effect on January 1 of this year and requires the release of law enforcement records relating to officer-involved shootings, uses of force resulting in death or great bodily injury and sustained findings against peace officers of dishonesty or sexual assault, as defined by the law. Such records had previously been exempt from public disclosure.
All records released must be thoroughly reviewed to ensure legally protected personal information of victims, witnesses, the accused, law enforcement and other involved parties are redacted. Each record is separately reviewed by investigators, human resources staff, county counsel, and records personnel. This painstaking process ensures all aspects are reviewed and all responsive information and details are disclosed.
As your Sheriff, I know that the trust of the community is vital to providing effective law enforcement services. In 2018, our deputies responded to 363,023 calls for service. Of those, only 0.1% resulted in a use of force. As is clear from these numbers, the vast majority of our deputies use force sparingly and only under the most difficult of circumstances.
I encourage you to view these records, absent the lens of sensationalism and innuendo. I trust that you will view these records judiciously, and see that the vast majority of our deputies do an excellent job, often under difficult circumstances, with professionalism and integrity. And I hope you trust that when mistakes happen, we have a record of holding our people accountable."