Sheriff’s Department Review Panel Nominees Announced by County : Misconduct: Supervisors vote May 21 on selections for the newly created board, which will investigate citizen complaints against deputies.
A pastor, a law professor and a financial planner are among 11 nominees to a panel that will monitor potential misconduct in the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, county officials announced Tuesday.
County Chief Administrative Officer Norman W. Hickey selected the eight men and three women from a roster of 176 applicants, according to Bob Lerner, a county spokesman. Twenty-seven were declared ineligible to serve on the voter-approved Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board because they are related to county employees, Lerner said.
As Hickey sorted through the remaining applications, he tried to select a group that would reflect the county’s racial, sexual, geographic and socioeconomic diversity, Lerner said. If the Board of Supervisors approves Hickey’s selections May 21, he said, the county will waste no time breaking them in.
“We intend to walk them through the entire justice system,” he said, saying an orientation meeting would be scheduled right away. “It’s not enough for individuals to know about courts and jails because they watch ‘L.A. Law.’ We want them to walk through jails and ride along with deputies. We want them to get the blood-and-guts feel.”
The newly created panel, the county’s first civilian review board of its kind, will be empowered to investigate citizen complaints against peace or custodial officers, including instances of excessive force, sexual harassment, improper shootings, illegal search and seizure, false arrest, criminal conduct and misconduct.
Since the voters approved its creation in November, the panel has drawn both praise and criticism. In January, the collective bargaining unit that represents Sheriff’s Department deputies and officers tried unsuccessfully to overturn the panel. Days later, a coalition of civil and legal rights groups called for the panel to include broad representation.
Lerner said he believes Hickey’s recommended candidates meet that goal. They include two blacks, two Latinos, a Filipino and an American Indian. Six of the nominees are older than 50, while the rest are between 36 and 49 years old. Hickey also paid attention to the “life experiences” each candidate would bring to the job, Lerner said.
The nominees are:
* Mateo R. Camarillo, a small-businessman from East San Diego, who also serves on the board of directors of the Chicano Federation and is a former member of the board that oversees the San Diego Convention Center.
* Darlee J. Crockett of La Jolla, who formerly served on the County Civil Service Commission, the first County Commission on the Status of Women and the County Affirmative Action Advisory Board.
* Rodolfo L. David of Chula Vista, a former investigator in the Philippines who has been a member of the San Diego Citizens’ Review Board on Police Practices since 1989.
* Timothy P. Haidinger of Rancho Santa Fe, who is president of the board of governors for the California Community Colleges system. He has also worked as a management consultant for law enforcement and judicial agencies in San Diego and Orange counties.
* Grant L. Hansen, a retired president of Convair who lives in Mt. Helix. A former assistant secretary of the Air Force, he was a U.S. delegate to the NATO advisory group for aerospace.
* Walter W. Heiser of La Mesa, a professor at the University of San Diego School of Law.
* Marilyn Lassman of Bonita, president of the South County Economic Development Council.
* Joe E. Outlaw of Scripps Ranch, a financial planner who has also administered the physical security and anti-terrorism program for the Naval Surfaces Forces of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
* James M. Rady of Escondido, who served for 12 years on the Escondido City Council, including four years as mayor. Since 1966, he has been president of Palomar Savings & Loan.
* Delia H. Talamantez of Mission Hills, who heads UC San Diego’s affirmative action and conflict of interest office.
* The Rev. Timothy J. Winters, pastor of Bayview Baptist Church in Encanto. Before entering the ministry, Winters was a San Diego police officer and a county probation officer.
The panelists will serve three-year terms without pay.
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