Transparency and Accountability in Law Enforcement

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By Eric McLeod
July 18, 2025

Accountability is one of the pillars of public administration for a reason. As the whole point of the very existence of a government agency is to serve the public, the agency must be accountable to that public in order to maintain legitimacy and its continued existence. One way this can be accomplished is through the agency’s transparency with the public.

One area in particular has come into focus in recent years: law enforcement. From officer use of force incidents that make national headlines to the perceived high number of deaths of inmates within county jails, the public has made clear its demand for accountability from law enforcement.

The public perception of internal cover-ups becomes more magnified in counties where the Sheriff is also the Coroner. When one person holds both offices simultaneously, it becomes easy to see how there could be a perception that said person, as the Coroner, could classify an in-custody or officer-involved death favorably for their officers since that person is also the Sheriff. As Sheriff, that person would be held responsible to answer for the actions of their officers. The temptation and opportunity for wrongdoing exists.

What is missing in this is accountability to the public. Riverside is one of the counties in California that has a Sheriff-Coroner system. In an effort to have complete transparency and accountability to the public, in 2000, the Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner put in place a Coroner Review process. This was done in lieu of calling for a Coroner’s Inquest, which the bureau has the right to do per the state constitution. However, an inquest is an expensive process that the taxpayers would ultimately have to pay for. An inquest is more of a formal hearing that takes place in a courtroom, which would take a courtroom away from a very busy docket, causing further delays for other cases.

In Riverside County, any death that occurs in the presence of law enforcement, regardless of the circumstances, must go through the Coroner Review process. This includes in-custody deaths (in a jail, in the back of a patrol unit or in handcuffs on a sidewalk), deputy or officer-involved shootings or use of force resulting in death, pursuits that result in death or deaths within 24 hours of law enforcement contact. These cases go through the Coroner Review process so that the Sheriff-Coroner, as a bureau, can show the public that nothing is being covered up, overlooked or brushed under the rug.

As with every death, the deputy coroner will conduct a death investigation to determine the mode, manner and cause of the death. At the same time, the local agency will conduct an investigation to determine if a crime was involved, and the subsequent criminal investigation. When law enforcement is present or involved in the death, several more layers of investigation take place that can include the homicide unit, corrections investigations, internal affairs and the force investigations detail of the District Attorney’s Office.

For a Coroner Review, the Administrative Deputy Coroner will collect all reports from the initial deputy coroner, all involved agencies and investigative units. Additionally, the Administrative Deputy Coroner will collect all videos (body-worn camera, dash cam, surveillance video, Ring-type home cameras, etc.). All reports and videos will be reviewed, and the Administrative Deputy Coroner will put together a summary of the timeline leading up to and including the death of the individual, along with a PowerPoint presentation that correlates to the summary timeline.

Once the Administrative Deputy Coroner has four to six of these cases prepared, a Coroner Review will be called. The Coroner Review is presented to the Riverside County Civil Grand Jury. The Civil Grand Jury is made up of citizens of the county who volunteer to serve for two years at a time. For the purpose of the Coroner Review, the Civil Grand Jury is present to represent all the citizens of the county.

At the Coroner Review, the Administrative Deputy presents the summary timeline and accompanying PowerPoint, a Forensic Toxicologist discusses the findings of their toxicological tests, and then the Forensic Pathologist discusses their findings from the autopsy with an accompanying PowerPoint presentation. At the conclusion of this, it is then opened for questions from the Civil Grand Jury. After all questions have been answered, the mode, manner and cause of death are recommended before being certified by the Sheriff-Coroner.

After the Coroner Review, the Civil Grand Jury files reports for the public on each case presented to them. Through this process, the Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner is transparent and accountable to the public in an effective and efficient manner that is financially responsible with taxpayer dollars.

Accountability is one of the pillars of public administration for a reason. As the whole point of the very existence of a government agency is to serve the public, the agency must be accountable to that public in order to maintain legitimacy and its continued existence. One way this can be accomplished is through the agency’s transparency with the public.

One area in particular has come into focus in recent years: law enforcement. From officer use of force incidents that make national headlines to the perceived high number of deaths of inmates within county jails, the public has made clear its demand for accountability from law enforcement.

The public perception of internal cover-ups becomes more magnified in counties where the Sheriff is also the Coroner. When one person holds both offices simultaneously, it becomes easy to see how there could be a perception that said person, as the Coroner, could classify an in-custody or officer-involved death favorably for their officers since that person is also the Sheriff. As Sheriff, that person would be held responsible to answer for the actions of their officers. The temptation and opportunity for wrongdoing exists.

What is missing in this is accountability to the public. Riverside is one of the counties in California that has a Sheriff-Coroner system. In an effort to have complete transparency and accountability to the public, in 2000, the Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner put in place a Coroner Review process. This was done in lieu of calling for a Coroner’s Inquest, which the bureau has the right to do per the state constitution. However, an inquest is an expensive process that the taxpayers would ultimately have to pay for. An inquest is more of a formal hearing that takes place in a courtroom, which would take a courtroom away from a very busy docket, causing further delays for other cases.

In Riverside County, any death that occurs in the presence of law enforcement, regardless of the circumstances, must go through the Coroner Review process. This includes in-custody deaths (in a jail, in the back of a patrol unit or in handcuffs on a sidewalk), deputy or officer-involved shootings or use of force resulting in death, pursuits that result in death or deaths within 24 hours of law enforcement contact. These cases go through the Coroner Review process so that the Sheriff-Coroner, as a bureau, can show the public that nothing is being covered up, overlooked or brushed under the rug.

As with every death, the deputy coroner will conduct a death investigation to determine the mode, manner and cause of the death. At the same time, the local agency will conduct an investigation to determine if a crime was involved, and the subsequent criminal investigation. When law enforcement is present or involved in the death, several more layers of investigation take place that can include the homicide unit, corrections investigations, internal affairs and the force investigations detail of the District Attorney’s Office.

For a Coroner Review, the Administrative Deputy Coroner will collect all reports from the initial deputy coroner, all involved agencies and investigative units. Additionally, the Administrative Deputy Coroner will collect all videos (body-worn camera, dash cam, surveillance video, Ring-type home cameras, etc.). All reports and videos will be reviewed, and the Administrative Deputy Coroner will put together a summary of the timeline leading up to and including the death of the individual, along with a PowerPoint presentation that correlates to the summary timeline.

Once the Administrative Deputy Coroner has four to six of these cases prepared, a Coroner Review will be called. The Coroner Review is presented to the Riverside County Civil Grand Jury. The Civil Grand Jury is made up of citizens of the county who volunteer to serve for two years at a time. For the purpose of the Coroner Review, the Civil Grand Jury is present to represent all the citizens of the county.

At the Coroner Review, the Administrative Deputy presents the summary timeline and accompanying PowerPoint, a Forensic Toxicologist discusses the findings of their toxicological tests, and then the Forensic Pathologist discusses their findings from the autopsy with an accompanying PowerPoint presentation. At the conclusion of this, it is then opened for questions from the Civil Grand Jury. After all questions have been answered, the mode, manner and cause of death are recommended before being certified by the Sheriff-Coroner.

After the Coroner Review, the Civil Grand Jury files reports for the public on each case presented to them. Through this process, the Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner is transparent and accountable to the public in an effective and efficient manner that is financially responsible with taxpayer dollars.

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Author: Eric McLeod has a Master of Public Administration from California Baptist University in Southern California. He is currently in the DPA program at CBU. He has served the public for over 17 years with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Initially, he worked in crime scene investigations with their forensics unit. He is currently a deputy coroner with the Department, conducting death investigations. Email: [email protected]

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