By Steven Greenhut
SACRAMENTO鈥擜fter reading the Riverside County Sheriff鈥檚 Department鈥檚 response to the county鈥檚 $1.3-million payout in May to a Wildomar man who accused deputies of using excessive force, readers might conclude the county gives away large sums of money on a willy-nilly basis. That would be disturbing from a fiscal perspective. But the alternative conclusion is worse (and more likely): The department turns a blind eye to disturbing behavior from its employees.
鈥淭he settlement in this case is irrelevant and solely a business decision between attorneys, insurance companies, and risk management of the county,鈥 according to the department鈥檚 statement to this newspaper. 鈥淚t in no way reflects on the facts of the case or points toward wrongdoing by deputies. Part of the decision-making must be the type of evidence and how attorneys will be able to manipulate already anti-law enforcement jurors with partial truths.鈥
I understand that government agencies are loath to admit wrongdoing. It can be costly to defend civil lawsuits in court, especially ones that feature photographs of the plaintiff鈥檚 face beaten to a pulp. It sounds like a wise 鈥渂usiness decision鈥 to settle a case where the underlying reason for the altercation wasn鈥檛 any grave public-safety danger. And who wants to defend a lawsuit alleging that deputies acted in an 鈥渆xcessively brutal, sadistic and malicious鈥 manner?
This newspaper summed up the specifics: 鈥淜enneth Ciccarelli was sitting in his backyard patio one summer night, listening to 鈥 loud music 鈥 when a Riverside County sheriff鈥檚 deputy appeared seemingly out of nowhere and demanded he turn off the tunes. Blinded by the deputy鈥檚 flashlight, Ciccarelli initially didn鈥檛 believe it was a real law enforcement officer 鈥 so he was slow in turning down the music that had drawn complaints from neighbors in June 2019. By the time the encounter was over, Ciccarelli鈥檚 face had been bashed by deputies and he was arrested on suspicion of battery on a peace officer.鈥
Ciccarelli鈥檚 attorney, Jerry Steering, alleges the department destroyed photos, withheld evidence and wrongly prosecuted the victim on that battery charge. The incident also left Ciccarelli in limbo for years as he faced criminal charges. Steering argues the county鈥檚 use-of-force policies are more about protecting it from civil liability than protecting the public.
Despite the department鈥檚 boilerplate, the 鈥渇acts of the case鈥 do seem pertinent and disturbing. An ordinary, fair-minded citizen鈥攐r juror鈥攎ight find it hard to believe that deputies couldn鈥檛 have calmly de-escalated a loud-music situation. If this behavior were 鈥渁ppropriate,鈥 then the settlement isn鈥檛 鈥渋rrelevant鈥濃攏ot to taxpayers who foot the bill or face the prospect of receiving similar 鈥渓awful鈥 treatment.
In all likelihood, the county paid $1.3 million because it found the facts of the case alarming enough that it believed it risked a much larger verdict at trial. That鈥檚 the definition of 鈥渞isk management.鈥 Most astonishingly, the sheriff鈥檚 department doesn鈥檛 seem to trust the jury system or the judgment of some people who serve on juries. That鈥檚 quite an admission and worth pondering as we celebrate an Independence Day weekend that commemorates our nation鈥檚 self-government.
鈥淚 consider trial by jury as the only anchor ever yet imagined by man, by which government can be held to the principles of its constitution,鈥 said Thomas Jefferson. The founders were right that juries are the 鈥渃onscience of the community鈥 and crucial to our freedom, even though we鈥檝e all seen some questionable jury verdicts.
The Riverside sheriff鈥檚 department worries about laws allowing 鈥渁nti-police activists and admitted biased persons to participate as jurors,鈥 but Jefferson worried mainly about government officials manipulating the process. In my experience, there鈥檚 little stopping a more frequent occurrence: participating jurors with a strong pro-police/pro-government bias.
A jury split 11-1 to acquit Ciccarelli (charges were then dropped) on that battery charge, so maybe it鈥檚 understandable why the department isn鈥檛 keen on juries. Some readers might figure Ciccarelli got the 鈥渓awful and appropriate鈥 beating that was coming to him and believe the county hands out $1.3 million on a whim. The rest of us might not be so sure.
Whatever the case, mind your p鈥檚 and q鈥檚 while in Riverside County given its, er, interesting standards for appropriate deputy behavior. And if you live there, you might have a good excuse the next time you want to avoid jury duty. Just tell the court that if the sheriff doesn鈥檛 trust the jury system, you don鈥檛 either. Hey, it鈥檚 worth a shot.
Steven Greenhut is Western region director for the R Street Institute and a member of the Southern California News Group editorial board. Write to him at sgreenhut@rstreet.org.