IOLERO head fires advisory council chair

The county's Community Advisory Council to facilitate communication between the Sheriff's Office and the community hit a hurdle last month, when Jerry Threet, director of the Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach (IOLERO), fired the group's chair, Alicia Roman.

The council was assembled only last fall as an 11-member volunteer group intended to bridge the communications gap between law enforcement and various communities of Sonoma County. They advise Threet, who was hired by the Board of Supervisors almost a year ago to head the independent office created in the wake of the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Andy Lopez by a deputy in the Moorland neighborhood of Santa Rosa.

'I did not take my decision lightly, as I greatly admire and respect Ms. Roman for her hard work, intelligence, and commitment to the community, and her significant contributions to the recent work of the CAC on immigration policy recommendations,' said Threet in a statement. 'I made this decision only after much deliberation and communication with Ms. Roman.'

Threet told the Index-Tribune that he and Roman held a lengthy meeting on March 14, in which they discussed ongoing tensions over her role on the CAC. Threet saw her actions on the council to this point as 'inconsistent with the bridge building mission of the CAC.' He informed her of his decision to remove her the following day by email.

Susan Lamont, a spokesperson for the Police Brutality Coalition of Sonoma County, issued a press release on March 30 in defense of Roman, and highly critical of the director of IOLERO. 'Mr. Threet believes that the community has an equal responsibility for building trust with the Sheriff's Office, but it is not the community which is untrustworthy,' the group says.

Pointing out Roman's 'language skills, multicultural sensitivity, commitment to social justice, and keen intellect,' the group says these qualities help 'make her an ideal bridge between the CAC and the communities it serves.'

Roman, born in Santa Rosa and a graduate of Piner High School and SRJC, is a local attorney focusing on tenant rights, civil rights and personal injury matters. According to her bio on the CAC web page – which has since been removed – she 'currently represents clients suing Sonoma County Sheriff's Office, Santa Rosa Police Department, and Sebastopol Police Department concerning the seizure of vehicles.' She was elected the CAC's first chair upon their formation in October, 2016.

The Police Brutality Coalition – which was formed as a result not only of Lopez's slaying but following a recent lawsuit on behalf of 21 inmates beaten in the County Jail – called Roman 'the Council member most qualified to address the plight of this (Latino) community.'

Threet's position is that since IOLERO's mission is bridge-building, 'the CAC bylaws state the members must be independent, impartial, and fair in their judgment, and that their conduct should not have a negative impact on the integrity of or the community's confidence in the CAC.'

'I admire Alicia Roman for the work she does in the community and the perspectives brings, but IOLERO's first word is 'Independent',' said Supervisor Susan Gorin. 'I have confidence in Mr. Threet moving forward on this important job of bridging the community and the operations of the Sheriff's office.'

According to the CAC's website on sonoma-county.org, 'The eleven members of the CAC represent and reflect the geographic, racial, ethnic, cultural and ideological diversity of Sonoma County. They are directly appointed by the IOLERO Director for one year terms and serve at the pleasure of the IOLERO Director.'

Last week also saw the release of IOLERO's recommendations to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office policies on immigration to limit cooperation with federal civil immigration enforcement. The position was taken that 'when local law enforcement cooperates with federal civil immigration enforcement, immigrants do not cooperate with local law enforcement,' according to their press release dated March 31.

Vice-chair Evelyn Cheatham was expected to take over the chair of the group at last night's meeting of IOLERO, where two new CAC members were to be introduced, Alma Roman Diaz and Joanne M. Brown, the latter of whom lives in the Springs. 'I'm delighted that Joanne Brown has been appointed to the CAC because Sonoma Valley will now have a representative on the Council,' said Gorin.

Their addition returns the CAC to its original 11-member status. Another one of the original 11 members of CAC, Joe Romano, left in January after two meetings because of its demands on his time.

Contact Christian by email at christian.kallen@sonomanews.com.