Today, Riverside County District One Supervisor Jose Medina tried to undermine Sheriff Chad Bianco and the county's voters by proposing an ad hoc committee to explore creating a Sheriff’s Department Citizens Oversight Committee.
Medina’s plan failed, as it deserved to. Sheriff Bianco, an elected official, answers directly to the voters who chose him. The Riverside Board of Supervisors rightfully blocked this partisan move, which threatened to erode the voters’ will, with Bianco giving an impassioned, powerful speech.
Here is the Story
In the matter of Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, one need not harbor personal affection or disdain to discern the truth laid bare by the numbers. The proposal at hand, cloaked in the garb of reform, seems less a genuine effort to elevate the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department than a calculated maneuver to embolden the machinery of bureaucracy and amplify one side of the aisle.
The evidence, stark and unyielding, points to a path more political than practical. We need only cast our gaze westward to Los Angeles, where, in the year 2016, the Sheriff’s Department found itself tethered to a Civilian Oversight Committee. What followed was not a flowering of justice or efficiency, but a burden shouldered by the taxpayer, with scant improvement to show for it.
The lesson is clear: to shackle Riverside’s Sheriff with the chains of bureaucratic oversight is to invite the same fate—a department hobbled, its purpose diluted, its service to the people undermined by the very measures meant to uplift it.
“For years you have all known about the Sheriff’s advisory council, you picked them— I didn’t pick them, you did. From the initial meeting…the reason why I refuse to give you their names is because from week one, when their names did get out, they were absolutely attacked by the activists we have here. And not only them. Their children in school. So I am not going to give you their names…I don’t want them subjected to this political garbage…”
Chad Bianco at the Board of Supervisors
How the Board of Supervisors Meeting Played Out:
MEDINA: “The motion 3.82 (28490) is to appoint an ad hoc committee to consider the establishment of a Sheriff’s Department oversight committee, an office of the Inspector General.”
There were 76 speakers set to speak. It ended with a motion not carried (meaning Medina did not recieve a second on his motion).
District One: Supervisor Jose Medina ✅
Second District: Supervisor Karen Spiegel
Third District: Supervisor Chuck Washington
Fourth District: Supervisor V. Manuel Perez
Fifth District: Supervisor Yxstian Gutierrez
✅ (YES) — ❌ (NO) — 🤐 (ABSTAIN)
Background
Riverside County stands at a pivotal moment. The Board of Supervisors is poised to vote on Supervisor Jose Medina’s proposal to establish a working group tasked with designing a civilian oversight committee and an inspector general for the Sheriff’s Department.
The group would have six months to craft its plan, though advocates like Luis Nolasco of the ACLU of Southern California press for a brisk 90 days, citing urgent concerns about jail conditions.
This initiative, framed as a push for accountability, arrives amid a storm of scrutiny over the Sheriff’s Department. Yet, as Sheriff Chad Bianco and his supporters argue, this move risks undermining an elected official’s authority, adding bureaucratic costs while failing to address the root causes of the department’s challenges.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, led by Bianco since 2018, has faced significant criticism. A federal consent decree, in place for a decade, monitors its handling of mental health issues and jail operations. In 2022, 18 deaths in county jails—a tragic high—sparked a state attorney general investigation.
“Nine of our eighteen deaths [in 2022] were from suicide or fentanyl overdose. Six of our deaths were from natural causes…two were homicides…and one was accidental after an inmate ate a bar of soap and several pencils.”
Chad Bianco at the Board of Supervisors
Over a dozen lawsuits from families, including that of Lisa Matus, whose son Richard died in custody, allege misconduct ranging from neglect to excessive force. These cases have fueled calls for reform, with Medina’s motion presented as a solution to restore public trust.
But opposition to the proposal is fierce, and it comes from a place of deep conviction. Denise Bianco, the wife of Sheriff Chad Bianco, took to Facebook to rally Riverside’s citizens:
“This has nothing to do with oversight. This is about a political agenda to allow activists to have control over your Sheriff.”
She credits Chad Bianco with safeguarding the county from governmental overreach during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that voters—not appointed boards—should hold the sheriff accountable.
Bianco himself has been blunt, telling NBC Palm Springs that the oversight push is driven by “far-left, pro-criminal, anti-law enforcement” groups aiming to politicize an independent agency. He declined to comment to KVCR News, perhaps signaling his frustration with what he sees as a biased narrative.
What Does the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Situation Tell Us?
To evaluate Medina’s proposal, Riverside needs only look to our neighbors in Los Angeles County, where a Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission (COC) was established in 2016 to address similar concerns—deputy misconduct, excessive force, and jail mismanagement.
The LASD, the nation’s largest sheriff’s department with 18,000 staff, has been plagued by scandals, including deputy cliques like the Executioners. The COC’s mission was to enhance transparency and analyze policies, but its record raises doubts about its effectiveness.
Consider the financial toll. In the five years before the COC (2011–2015), Los Angeles County paid an estimated $50–75 million to settle lawsuits against the LASD, with annual costs around $5.6 million in 2011 and rising gradually.
After the COC’s creation, payouts soared. In 2016 alone, settlements reached $50.9 million, including cases of deputy misconduct and a mistaken shooting. From 2016 to 2020, total payouts likely hit $150–200 million, driven by a $53 million strip-search settlement and $55 million tied to deputy gang-related force, as noted in COC reports.
By 2022–2023, annual costs spiked to $150 million, part of a nearly $1 billion county litigation budget. While new lawsuit filings dropped slightly—from 176 in 2012–13 to 132 by 2016—suggesting some preventive progress, the escalating costs reflect unresolved issues and the resolution of older cases under the COC’s watch.
This surge in payouts points to a core issue: oversight often highlights problems without fixing them. The COC has struggled with limited authority; until 2020’s Measure R granted subpoena power, it faced resistance in accessing records. In 2025, Sheriff Robert Luna sued the COC over misconduct subpoenas, and former Chair Robert Bonner’s push for ordinance changes underscored the commission’s constraints.
Current Chair Hans Johnson, elected in July 2025, aims to tackle deputy gangs, but ongoing legal battles drain resources. Beyond settlements, the COC itself costs taxpayers millions annually for staff, investigations, and public engagement—expenses that add up without clear evidence of reduced misconduct.
Riverside risks a similar path. The Sheriff’s Department already operates under federal oversight, which imposes reforms and monitors compliance. A new civilian committee could duplicate efforts, costing an estimated $1–5 million yearly based on comparable models, all while diverting funds from practical solutions like better jail mental health services or internal affairs training.
Bianco’s supporters argue that as an elected official, he answers directly to voters every four years, a democratic check more responsive than an appointed board. Denise Bianco’s call to “save our County” reflects a belief that oversight could shift power to activists, undermining the will of Riverside’s electorate.
This perspective doesn’t dismiss oversight entirely. In smaller cities like Fort Worth, commissions have fostered dialogue and reduced complaints. Historical efforts, like the 1968 Kerner Commission’s push for community policing, show the value of public engagement.
But in sprawling counties with complex sheriff operations, oversight often becomes a bureaucratic quagmire. Los Angeles’s experience—where costs ballooned and scandals persisted—suggests that adding another layer of review may burden taxpayers without delivering accountability.
Riverside’s vote today is a choice between competing visions of reform. Medina’s proposal responds to real tragedies, like the 2022 jail deaths, and reflects a desire for transparency. But Bianco’s defenders make a compelling case: piling on oversight risks politicizing an elected office, escalating costs, and diluting voter power.
History offers cautionary tales—from early 20th-century anti-corruption drives to modern oversight boards—that good intentions don’t always yield results. Riverside might find better solutions in strengthening existing mechanisms, like federal oversight or internal accountability processes, rather than banking on a costly new commission that may only deepen the divide.
SOURCES | BIBLIOGRAPHY
Here are the sources not linked in the article.
ABC7 Los Angeles. “LA County Approves Nearly $50 Million in Sheriff’s Department Lawsuit Settlements.” ABC7 Los Angeles, 2022. https://abc7.com/post/los-angeles-county-board-of-supervisors-sheriffs-department-settlements-excessive-force-lasd/12409453/#:~:text=LOS%20ANGELES%20(CNS)%20%2D%2D%20The,largest%20in%20the%20county's%20history.
—. “LA County Deputy Gangs Continue to Operate, New Report Shows; Investigators Call It ‘Cancer’ Within Department.” ABC7 Los Angeles, March 3, 2023. https://abc7.com/post/los-angeles-county-sheriffs-department-deputy-gangs-report-2023-civilian-oversight-commission/12911222/.
Blakinger, Keri. “L.A. County Legal Spending Skyrocketed to $1 Billion Last Year, as Sheriff’s Department Settlements Balloon.” Los Angeles Times, February 7, 2024. https://www.yahoo.com/news/l-county-paid-nearly-1-110000926.html.
—. “L.A. County Sheriff Luna Sues Oversight Commission Over Misconduct Subpoenas.” Los Angeles Times, March 20, 2025. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-03-20/los-angeles-sheriff-sues-oversight-commission.
Tchekmedyian, Alene. “Deputies Accused of Being in Secret Groups Cost L.A. County $55 Million.” Los Angeles Times, August 4, 2020. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-08-04/sheriff-deputy-clique-payouts.