CHARLES ‘CHUCK’ BATTLE: PUBLIC NEEDS BEST OFFICERS TO FEEL SAFE
Q:Rate ex-Sheriff Bill Gore and assess his legacy. What was his biggest accomplishment? What did he most neglect?
One wouldn’t reasonably expect a person coming from an FBI background like Gore to be a natural fit for heading up a local law enforcement agency. As we see, local issues — such as jail deaths and critical staff shortages — are not issues easily resolved by those even expertly familiar with federal issues, nor should we expect they would be. Mastering the three great responsibilities of being sheriff — proper staffing, the safe and efficient running of the jails and courts, and the responsible leading of the law enforcement mission on the streets and in the various communities under his jurisdiction — may be a bridge too far for anyone not sufficiently or properly trained to assume the important role of being sheriff.
A:Q:
What are the three largest issues that contribute to the high number of San Diego County jail deaths and what would you do to address them?
A:
Let’s define our terms.
What makes a high number high? The audit we see compared San Diego County to three other California counties, similar but not identical. With 50 years of experience conducting thorough investigations and writing detailed reports, one soon learns to read between the lines when one sees a report written, not to inform, but rather to inflame the reader. One example from the report colored — by implication — this county as deficient because we only instituted certain practices to a level of acceptability that the California Code of Regulations — Title 15 — had delineated were only minimally required of a county detentions facility, while bragging on the other hand that these other counties had done more than what was minimally required under that same law. Is this county then really remiss for having followed the minimum requirements as they are laid out by state law? Solutions require first studying alleged problems,
then if they really are problems, working through a process to achieve a desired result.
Q:
How would you rate
the Sheriff ’s Department efforts at recruitment and retention? Do you think the staff reflects the diversity of San Diego County and how do you think it should change?
A:
Two things govern
recruitment and retention for peace officers: wages and morale, but not necessarily in that order. High employee morale will more predictably get a department through periods of low wages better than high wages will serve a department’s efforts at maintaining adequate staffing levels through periods of low employee morale. We need not shame and blame the way things have been done, rather it’s about coming up with answers and solutions. A hundred reasons why something cannot be accomplished means very little to someone who consistently thinks outside the box and who consistently thereby is able to see at least one good way to get things done. What communities want and need is to feel safe. To be safe, communities must insist departments hire the best, most qualified candidates as their peace officers, not simply hire people because of their sex, race, color or creed, but because they have the right stuff and the right character for the job, and because they can meet the other historically recognized, minimally required, qualifications for the position of peace officer.
Q:
What would you do to
protect inmates from this or the next pandemic and how would you try to prevent the spread of disease
in jails?
A:
Were a similar
“threat” to occur again, and we have been promised that it will again occur, the process would require getting the county health authorities quickly involved. An actual airborne type of pandemic threat would be difficult to protect against in close quarters such as they are in detention facilities.
The immediate thing to do would be to spread the word throughout the facilities for inmates to maintain as much distance from one another as is possible and to wash their hands frequently. If it was a convincing threat, perhaps releasing the lowest risk inmates might become a viable option.
Q:
Department data has
shown that San Diego County deputies are more likely to use force on people of color. What would you say to affected communities about this? What, if anything, would you do to address it?
A:
Peace officers with
few, very few exceptions, only use force on people when it’s reasonably necessary, when people won’t comply with a lawful command to submit to arrest, to cease doing some unlawful act, or when officers must use force to protect themselves, or to protect others from physical harm.
Who has the most control over whether or not force becomes necessary for a peace officer to use? It is almost without exception the person or persons, not the peace officer, who has the most control over when, or if, force will become necessary.
I would tell communities to teach their children what the rules of engagement are in the streets.
The use of body-worn cameras has proven that officers are the vast majority of the time exonerated by what was captured on the video and audio that was recorded.
In the majority of cases, when the dust settles, the blame and the causation for the use of force are usually on the person who made the whole thing necessary for the officers.