SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT FACES PROBE BY CALIF. AG

California's attorney general on Wednesday announced a civil rights investigation into the office of Santa Clara Sheriff Laurie Smith, a polarizing figure who is fighting formal public corruption accusations following a noconfidence vote by the county's board of supervisors.

Attorney General Rob Bonta declined to lay out specific allegations because the investigation is pending.

But he said the purpose of the probe is to determine whether the sheriff's office “engaged in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional conduct” that could merit corrective action.

“I will say that there has been much written about and discussed about how individuals within the jail in Santa Clara County, how they've been beaten, the conditions of confinement,” he said. “There have been deaths and injuries in custody.”

The sheriff's office and her attorney, Allen Ruby, did not immediately respond to requests for comment about Bonta's announcement.

Smith's office has had to pay costly settlements to people who are mentally ill who were severely injured while in jail custody, including $10 million to the family of a man who inflicted serious

injuries on himself while inside a jail transport van in 2018.

Smith objected to a vote of no-confidence taken by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors in August, saying members are blaming her

for their failure to provide safety-net services for mentally ill people, the Mercury News of San Jose reported.

The county board in August requested outside investigations by Bonta's office as well as the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury.

In December, the civil grand jury formally accused Smith of one count of willful misconduct and six counts of “willful and corrupt” misconduct. Smith did not enter a plea to the civil accusations in court last week and it's unclear if the case will go to trial.