Baca to turn over Ruben Salazar files to civilian watchdog for review
Sheriff bows to pressure to release old records
August 18, 2010
Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said Wednesday that he was turning over thousands of pages on the slaying of former Times columnist and KMEX-TV news director Ruben Salazar to the civilian watchdog agency that monitors the Sheriff's Department so a report can be prepared on the 40-year-old case.
Baca's move comes in response to a California Public Records Act request filed by The Times in March seeking records that might shed light on Salazar's killing by a deputy who fired a tear-gas missile that struck the reporter during a massive riot in East Los Angeles. Questions and controversy continue to cloud the Aug. 29, 1970, slaying, which left an open wound that has yet to heal.
"The sheriff wants to move this forward," Baca spokesman Steve Whitmore said.
However, it is unclear whether the county's Office of Independent Review will recommend releasing documents, according to director Michael Gennaco.
He said his staff would write a report based on its review of the eight boxes of records. If there is sufficient information, Gennaco said, he will assess the department's actions during Salazar's slaying and compare them with current policies and procedures.
"We're going to let the chips fall where they may," said Gennaco, whose agency is staffed by about half a dozen attorneys who monitor officer-involved shootings and allegations of wrongdoing. "Maybe there's answers in those boxes."
Salazar's daughter, Lisa Salazar Johnson, praised Baca for moving forward on the case but added that all the files should be opened.
"I feel they should be made public so everybody can draw their own conclusions," she said.
Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas also credited Baca for his decision but said he hoped the records would be made public.
"This is not meant to reflect poorly on the current sheriff or the current department as a whole. It is to capture the significance of history for our collective benefit and posterity," he said of opening the files.
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Confidential report says some Ruben Salazar files should be released
August 19, 2010
Some of the Sheriff's Department records regarding the 1970 slaying of Times columnist and KMEX-TV news director Ruben Salazar by a deputy should be released under state law, according to a confidential report sent this week to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
The county counsel's office said records such as those that deal with witness statements, facts and circumstances involving incidents and diagrams of incidents should be disclosed, according to a copy of the report obtained by The Times.
"Because of the age of the Ruben Salazar investigation, it is unlikely that ... a witness or the investigation would be endangered," the report said. "Therefore, the items listed are subject to disclosure."
The report was ordered last week by Supervisor Gloria Molina in response to a report in The Times about the Salazar files, which the newspaper has been seeking for the last five months after filing a California Public Records Act Request. Sheriff Lee Baca initially denied the request, but then said he would review the files.
Salazar was killed on Aug. 29, 1970, by a deputy who fired a tear-gas missile into the Silver Dollar Bar in East Los Angeles, where the newsman had been taking a break after a riot broke out during a huge anti-Vietnam rally. The case has been clouded by controversy and questions for 40 years.
The county counsel report was sent to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, one day before Baca announced that he was turning over thousands of pages on the Salazar killing to the civilian watchdog that monitors the department.
Baca plans to publicly release the report by the county Office of Independent Review and use the findings to determine whether he unseals any of the eight boxes of Salazar files, spokesman Steve Whitmore said Thursday evening.
"I'm sure that the sheriff is going to review the county counsel recommendations. He takes them very seriously," Whitmore said. "But the OIR has begun its review and that report will be made public."
Parks, schools and scholarships have been named in honor of Salazar. The U.S. Postal Service also released a stamp in 2008 recognizing the award-winning journalist.
In a recent statement, Baca called Salazar an "admired reporter" whose "legacy includes inspiring young Hispanics to enter the field of journalism and shed light on problems affecting communities."
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