Sonoma County’s independent law enforcement watchdog to resign

Sonoma County’s first-ever law enforcement auditor Jerry Threet announced this week he will resign at the end of the year from the Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach he helped start 2½ years ago, a program born out of community grief over the 2013 death of Santa Rosa teen Andy Lopez, who was shot by a sheriff’s deputy.

Threet stepped in as director of an entirely new county office in April 2016 and was given the mission of improving community confidence in the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office and providing independent review of sheriff investigations of significant personnel matters, including excessive force and deputy shootings. Threet said health concerns prompted his decision to leave the office earlier than he had planned, and his last day will be Dec. 31.

Threet said running the office was the “biggest challenge of my career in public service” and called it an “extraordinary ride” in an email sent Wednesday to county leaders announcing his retirement.

“Getting the program set up was a big accomplishment,” Threet said in an interview Friday. “I knew when I started the job that it would be challenging, and I walked into it ?knowing that.”

Sonoma County Supervisor Shirlee Zane credited Threet with “building bridges in the community” through his outreach efforts and for plowing through a large volume of investigation audits. Zane said Threet’s departure will fast-track discussions about the future of the office, currently operating on a nearly $500,000 budget with two staff, at a time of significant financial constraints for the county focused on supporting recovery efforts from the October firestorm.

“Taking on something new takes a lot of courage,” Zane said. “He did it with passion, vision and thoughtfulness, kindness, and I appreciate he’s dedicated the last 2½ years to fulfill the mission.”

Sheriff Rob Giordano said through a department spokesman that he wishes Threet “a very happy retirement” and it is unfortunate Threet is leaving before forming a robust community outreach program.

“The office of the auditor has helped the Sheriff’s Office establish a level of trust and an avenue of communication within certain segments of the community,” Giordano said in an email.

Over the next several months, Threet will continue conducting reviews of internal sheriff’s investigations and he will produce an annual report.

The report, which he expects to present to the Board of Supervisors in December, will detail his work, including recommendations he’s developed for how the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office could improve its investigations into complaints about deputies and other serious personnel issues. The document will include responses from the Sheriff’s Office.

Threet said he is proud of the improvement he’s seen in the quality of the Sheriff’s Office internal investigations since he has been reviewing them. He said the community advisory council, with nine appointed members, has become a valuable hub for discussions about police practices from the community perspective and where sheriff’s officials can share their expertise.

“The (community advisory council) is now seen as a place where folks who have concerns can come to have them aired,” Threet said. “The sheriff has demonstrated they listen, they think it’s valuable and include it into their process. Previously, there wasn’t an established process to bring the public into the decision-making.”

Threet’s departure coincides with the retirement of outgoing Sheriff Giordano, who will hand the reins to Sheriff-elect Mark Essick on Jan. 7. Threet said he hopes Essick and the new director can start as new leaders and “bring their own approach to each of their offices and the partnerships that await between then.”

Since he took office, Threet has reviewed ?63 investigations into complaints about deputies. Of those complaints, ?26 were originally filed with Threet’s office, a new process he established to offer the alternative to people who do not wish to file a complaint directly with the Sheriff’s Office.

Threet has made policy recommendations such as directing deputies to keep body cameras on throughout incidents, establish a written nonretaliation policy for people who file complaints about deputies or assist in internal investigations, and the creation of a robust implicit bias training program.

Community advisory council chairwoman Evelyn Cheatham, who was also part of the task force who helped create the office in the aftermath of Lopez’ death, said Threet brought an intelligence and even-keeled nature to the work that proved crucial to taking on the massive workload of audits and shepherding the community council through its own creation.

“It’s going to be a huge loss; he’s brilliant, so smart,” Cheatham said. “I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

Threet demonstrated strong leadership in his efforts to connect with immigrant communities - often in small group meetings throughout the county - providing an opportunity for people feeling insecure and unsafe to speak about their concerns at a time of a federal crackdown on immigration status, community advisory council member Emilia Carbajal said.

“One of the things that I feel most proud of, that the council, Jerry’s office, the community and the sheriff all worked on, was passing the policy on whether the sheriff’s department was going to cooperate with ICE,” said Carbajal, a program director with the Graton Day Labor Center. “That’s one of the most greatest successes and a demonstration of what it takes to work together.”

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 707-521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.