Oversight board demands better cooperation from San Diego Sheriff's Department

The Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board (CLERB) approved sending a letter to the San Diego County sheriff, expressing frustration with the response to requests for information as the committee reviews complaints against the department.

It's the latest rub between the San Diego County Sheriff's Department and the citizens review board, tasked with overseeing complaints and policies of the law enforcement agency.

CLERB says the department is costing them time and money.

"Matthew Settles was very seriously mentally ill. He was a ward of the state," Settles' sister-in-law, Denise, said.

The CLERB committee is getting some high-powered support from some familiar faces.

"He was getting help in the county mental hospital. He went to jail. We all feared the worst for him, and it did happen," Settles' brother, David, said.

Settles' family members came to Tuesday's meeting to encourage CLERB to push the sheriff's department for transparency.

Settles committed suicide while incarcerated at George Bailey Detention Facility in 2022. The family sued the sheriff's department for improper treatment.

"People going to jail should not have a death sentence," David said.

Elisa Serna's mother, Paloma, recently settled a lawsuit against the sheriff's department for $15 million.

"CLERB does have the subpoena power to force the sheriff's department and Kelly Martinez to investigate," Paloma said.

Her 24-year-old pregnant daughter died on her fifth day of incarceration in November of 2019. Her mother says she was arrested for stealing liquor.

CLERB chair Mary Anne Pintar penned a two-page letter to Sheriff Kelly Martinez. In it, Pintar writes, the sheriff's department failed to cooperate with the consultant group hired to analyze data.

CLERB says the research of such data could lead to a reduction in overdoses and in-custody deaths. Pintar says San Diego County jails have the highest number of unexplained deaths, overdose and accidental deaths of any California county.

At the meeting, the head of detention investigations Lt. Aaron Meleen said since the jails started body scans, there is a 5% decrease in contraband getting into the facilities.

"I believe the number of overdoses are down because there is not the amount of drugs that are going into our facility," Meleen said.

According to the letter, sheriff's office staff told the researchers requesting jail data to submit a request under the California Public Records Act. Despite filing the formal requests Pintar says the sheriff withheld some of those records.

CLERB is demanding complete and prompt cooperation.

"Kelly needs to comply with what CLERB is asking. We need every evidence, every information, documents, video evidence, emails, everything," Paloma said.

The sheriff's department did not answer NBC 7's questions, but in a published report in The San Diego Union-Tribune on Monday, a spokesperson for the department says Martinez is completely committed to civilian oversight of her department and that she must balance her obligations to CLERB with her obligation to protect individual privacy rights and sensitive information.

The CLERB chair says delays cost the county more than $15,000 on top of the nearly $120,000 contract. Also, the missing information prohibits researchers from flagging key contributing factors to in-custody deaths.