DPCCC membership approved the following resolution at the September 15, 2022 regular meeting.
WHEREAS in 2020 the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors declared racism was a public health crisis and “a social system with multiple dimensions: individual racism that is internalized or interpersonal and systemic racism that is institutional or structural”; and
WHEREAS in 2020 the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors declared that Black/African Americans, Latinx, and other communities of color are disproportionally impacted by health disparities; and
WHEREAS mental care and health care are equity issues which disproportionately impact communities of color in Contra Costa County with respect to access to intervention services, proper diagnosis and care; and
WHEREAS it required the proactive efforts of advocates to ensure that the County established mobile crisis and alternative behavioral health crisis intervention models such as the A3 model (Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime); and
WHEREAS the work of advocates like Duane Chapman, former chair of the County Mental Health Commission, advocated for mental health crisis response reform for many years; and
WHEREAS the Contra Costa Sheriff Department sent staff to be trained on the Mental Health Evaluation Team (MHET) model in 2012, but did not implement a MHET team until 2021, years after many Contra Costa cities implemented the program when leadership was required; and
WHEREAS there are longstanding concerns about Coroner’s findings in inquests, and actions of deputies by the families of those who lost their lives from use of force as a result of mental health crisis response by Contra Costa County Sheriff deputies that exposed the County to legal liability; and
WHEREAS Sheriff Livingston supported the actions of Deputy Hall, who was charged and convicted, and wrote a public letter to his deputies supporting the actions of Deputy Andrew Hall, who was sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted of assault with a firearm in the fatal shooting of motorist Laudemer Arboleda, 33, during a slow-speed car chase in November 2018; and
WHEREAS Deputy Andrew Hall was permitted to return to duty while the previous case was pending and fatally shot Tyrell Wilson, 33, in Danville on March 11, 2021; and
WHEREAS there are concerns about the accuracy and thoroughness of recent Sheriff’s investigations, including a recent case where criminal charges have been filed in the case of a former Contra Costa County Sheriff volunteer with the Contra Costa County Posse who is accused of building and selling ghost guns obtained from the Sheriff’s gun range; and
WHEREAS these actions expose the County to legal and financial liability; and
WHEREAS these actions are a concern to public trust which merit investigation and procedural changes; and
WHEREAS the citizens of the County have requested oversight and checks and balances for investigations by the Contra Costa County Sheriff Department to help build positive relationships, trust and transparency between the community and law enforcement.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County ask the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors to conduct open study sessions regarding critical Sheriff Department functions related to the internal investigations process from an equity lens, including establishing a civilian oversight body; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that by January 15th, 2023, the County Administrator’s Office convenes a working group to create oversight recommendations to the full Board of Supervisors which would include two to three community advocates, at least two individuals with lived experience or familial experience with the behavioral health system, at least two community representatives , the Sheriff and/or his designee, two representatives of the Contra Costa County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, and at least two representatives from BIPOC communities; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the findings of this process be presented to the Board of Supervisors on a regular basis for public comment and review along with a measurement dashboard, including examining mental health encounters and treatment referrals from a race equity framework in a public process for discourse.
Original resolution submitted June 30, 2022, by Michelle Milam and Maria Alegria, elected delegate, District 1
Approved by the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County, September 15, 2022