No criminal charges will be filed against Nevada County sheriff’s deputies who fatally shot Sage Crawford earlier this year, according to a statement by the District Attorney’s Office.
In an email statement, former Nevada County District Attorney Cliff Newell said that the office’s upcoming report on whether the deputies involved in the shooting should face discipline is not yet completed. However, he added that after reviewing police reports of the incident, his office made the determination not to file any charges against the officers.
“…Based on the information currently available, there will be no criminal charges against the involved deputies by this administration,” Newell said.
Pauli Halstead and Lorraine Reich | Other Voices
In 2016-17, the Nevada County Civil Grand Jury researched the expanding topic of audiovisual technology and inquired into the efforts of local law enforcement agencies to provide more transparency and public safety by recording their field activities using body-worn cameras.
Given the two shooting incidents in the past year resulting in death, in which sheriff’s deputies did not have body cams, the Community Oversight Task Force began an inquiry as to why not.
As reported by the Grand Jury: “The Grand Jury believes the information on this subject is sufficient to proceed. The advantages of body-worn cameras outweigh the concerns and even the associated costs. The Nevada County Civil Grand Jury calls upon the Nevada County Board of Supervisors, the city/town councils of Grass Valley, Nevada City and Truckee, and the police and sheriff’s departments of Nevada County to actively promote full deployment of body-worn cameras.”
Lorraine Reich and Pauli Halstead | Other Voices
The use of deadly force by police officers, particularly against the mentally ill and people of color, has given rise to federal HR 7120, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020. It is estimated that people with untreated mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed during a law enforcement encounter.
In California, these statistics of police shootings were the impetus for the state Legislature to pass SB 230 (Govt. Code 7286), a comprehensive bill calling for updating use-of-force policies.
Nationwide, training law enforcement in the recognition of mental illness, addiction and homelessness and appropriate use of force is an ongoing focus by communities willing to re-imagine law enforcement roles and budgets.
Ronda Kaysen, The New York Times
Published: 28 Feb 2021 07:56 PM BdST
Updated: 28 Feb 2021 07:56 PM BdST Rineeka and Steven Sheppard, who added a concession stand to their basement theater, outside their home with their son, Tristan, in Indianapolis, Feb 16, 2021. Since they have spent so much time at home in the last year, some homeowners have taken craft and design projects to a new level. (Stacy Able/The New York Times)
Jen Rondeau didn’t set out to turn her laundry room into a psychedelic disco lounge, but now that it looks like one, she’s very pleased with herself. );
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It all started in early January as demand for the homemade masks she had been selling since spring dwindled and Rondeau, an artist and musician, found herself without a creative outlet. So she turned her attention to the gray utilitarian room in the basement of her home in West Orange, New Jersey.