photo credit: Sonoma County Sheriff's Office
Screenshot of the critical incident video introduction on the office involved shooting of David 
Pelaez-Chavez in July, 2022.

Civilian oversight of the Sonoma County Sheriff's office has been a contested topic since it's inception.

The latest volley was a fiery response to an investigation by the Sheriff's Office watchdog agency.

The conflict is over conclusions by IOLERO - the Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach - on the fatal shooting of farmworker David Pelaez-Chavez in 2022.

The issue stems rather, from their lack of conclusions, said IOLERO head John Alden.

"At the end of the day, we were not able to get statements from members of the sheriff's office about what happened because we could not persuade the sheriff to compel them to talk to us in the way that pretty much every other law enforcement agency we know of in California does," Alden said. "And that's unfortunate. It questions whether we'll be able to get statements in future cases."

In a recent statement, an attorney for the deputies involved in the case noted the deputies had already indicated they would exercise their fifth amendment rights against self-incrimination, and accused IOLERO of harassment and retaliation for calling them to interviews anyways.

In what a spokesperson described as an erroneous mistake, sealed court records - including various subpoenas submitted by IOLERO - were sent to members of the press and Sonoma County officials.

The leaked subpoenas sought information on a range of topics, including internal disciplinary decisions, and reports to California's Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.