JOIN US AT THE RIVERSIDE COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISOR ON TUESDAY JULY 14th 2026!
One year ago, Supervisor Jose Medina introduced a motion to study civilian oversight of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Unfortunately, the Board of Supervisors failed to take up the issue and stated that more research & conversations were needed. Yet amidst their inaction, the overall lack of institutional control has continued unchecked, 16 deaths have occurred since and a deputy was charged with gross vehicular manslaughter.
On June 12th, 2026, the Riverside County Civil Grand Jury publicly released a report urging the County of Riverside to adopt civilian oversight over the sheriff’s department. The civil grand jury acknowledged that despite being referred to a watchdog entity of our county government, sheriff oversight should be its own a permanent, ongoing activity. These findings led to their set of 9 recommendations, including the following:“The Riverside County Board of Supervisors shall, within eighteen months from July 1, 2026, establish an independent civilian oversight body pursuant to AB 1185.”
When members of our coalition brought the grand jury recommendations to the Board of Supervisors on June 23rd, Supervisor Manuel Perez acknowledged, "Yes, we definitely do need an oversight committee.” Supervisor Jose Medina acknowledged the report and shared his intent to once again bring a motion on oversight. The time for reviewing the problem has passed. The time for accountability has arrived. We need to let the Board know that true leadership requires more than acknowledging the problem, it requires the courage to act.
We are calling on all Riverside County residents to join us at the Riverside County Board of Supervisors meeting on July 14, 2026, at 9:30 A.M. to let them know, we want oversight now!
RSVP here: https://forms.gle/maPTLkMkn5ZwyWaz8
Can’t join us on the 14th? Send an email and call your Board of Supervisors ahead of the meeting. Find instruction and information in our toolkit at: bit.ly/rsactakeaction
TAKE ACTION TO SEPERATE THE SHERIFF -CORONER!
Earlier this year, California State Senator Sabrina Cervantes introduced a bill for Riverside County to separate the office of the coroner away from the sheriff’s department. This legislation comes at a critical time for Riverside County, which continues to rank as one of the worst for in-custody deaths in the state. This model of joint sheriff-coroners- as seen in Riverside County, has led to incidents of inconsistent determinations for the causes of death, delays in reporting, and limited access to information for families and the public. SB 1379 will modernize and strengthen the integrity of death investigations in Riverside County by separating the sheriffs-coroner’s office and establishing an independent medical examiner. Join the Riverside Sheriff Accountability Coalition (RSAC) and other community orgs to urge our legislature to pass this bill!