Tag: Tony Rackauckas

Your editorial on July 7, “Let Orange County’s Law Enforcement Watchdog Work,” made critical points urging the Board of Supervisors to reverse a recent vote to have the Office of Independent Review focus on its originally purpose — to watchdog our county’s criminal justice agencies. The public has a right to know that board politics is not only hindering, but quashing critical oversight of the county’s biggest law enforcement agencies — the Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s Office. Nothing has changed in my quest to provide proper oversight since, as board chairman is 2015, I fought and won the expansion of the OIR to all county agencies involved in criminal justice. It had become clear that Orange County needed a watchdog over the Sheriff’s Department after the murder of John Chamberlain in our county jail in 2010. Since the OIR expansion in 2015, the county has had a jail escape by three hard-core felons who took advantage of a failure to routinely inspect the jail plumbing tunnels; a Grand Jury report detailing avoidable jail deaths; and the most egregious of all: misuse of jail informants which caused a judge to remove the District Attorney from the county’s worst mass murder case. I voted to continue the OIR, but stated on the open record that the board was ignoring these critical issues. I completely agree with the Register Editorial Board that the Board of Supervisors should reverse its vote and direct the OIR to do its job focusing on criminal justice. As your District Attorney I will ensure that the public is protected and tough questions answered. As the Register Editorial Board points out, we deserve better. He is a candidate for Orange County District Attorney.