Families of people who died in one of Riverside county’s jails say they lack confidence in the system investigating their loved ones deaths
, the families of several people who have died in the county’s jails are mounting an uphill battle: to force the creation of an independent coroner’s office.in this sprawling county east of Los Angeles. In 2022, at least 19 people died while held in Riverside county detention facilities, according to California department of justice data. That’s a higher rate of jail deaths than in LA county that year, which had three times as many inmates.
In another instance, Bianco used his personal Facebook account to respond to an article posted by the Press-Enterprise about deaths in his jails, most of Richard was awaiting trial with his brother Raymond for attempted murder and attempted robbery when he was found unresponsive in his cell, according to the coroner’s report.
Several experts said allowing law enforcement officials to serve as coroners in their own jurisdictions, as is the case in Riverside, is problematic. “The job of the person doing an autopsy is not to satisfy law enforcement but to get to the truth,” said Thomas Mauriello, a former police officer and federal investigator who teaches at University of Maryland’s department of criminology and criminal justice. Law enforcement agencies and coroners, he said, “should be separate and distinct”.
Bianco did not respond to a request for comment about whether his department reported the use-of-force to the state, or the accuracy of the Times’s reporting.Aided by the ACLU, Matus and other family members of people who died in Bianco’s jails have had some success putting the issue on the agenda of local leaders.
The argument over which county coroner examines a body is beside the point, experts say. The real problem is the fact that coroners exist at all. Fierro said coroners typically have limited training and juggle responsibilities with other duties. “This is not a part-time, do-it-on-the-weekend job,” she said. “Coroners should be done away with unless the coroner is an MD.”
“It’s a very rare career choice,” said J Keith Pinckard, president of the National Association of Medical Examiners. “It is a lower-paying specialty compared to other branches of medical practice,” he said, “and salaries in government may not be comparable to the private sector”.The ACLU of Southern California and the families say they’re not done fighting for the separation of the sheriff and the coroner.
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