110 EAST COOK STREET ● SANTA MARIA, CA 93454-5190 ● 805-925-0951 ● FAX 805-349-0657 ● www.cityofsantamaria.org
CITY OF SANTA MARIA
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
City Manager, Ext. 2200
Human Resources, Ext. 2203
August 15, 2023
Santa Barbara County Grand Jury
Presiding Judge Pauline Maxwell
1100 Anacapa Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Honorable Judge Pauline Maxwell,
The 202 2-2023 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury recently released its report entitled A Death in Custody | Lessons Learned. The Grand Jury has requested the City of Santa Maria respond to Findings 4a, 4b, 5, and Recommendations 4a and 5 within 90 days of the report issuance.
RESPONSE TO THE GRAND JURY
Finding 4a: JT's mental health crisis was not adequately evaluated at the local hospital because municipal law enforcement patrol officers did not share with hospital staff available vital information of JT's suicidal threats and ideation.
City Response to Finding 4a: Disagree. The Santa Maria Police Department met its obligation by providing the jail with a medical clearance at which time his custody was transferred to the Santa Barbara County Jail.
Finding 4b: All cities in Santa Barbara County with their own police departments, i.e., cities of Guadalupe, Lompoc, Santa Barbara, and Santa Maria, and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office patrol officers and supervisory personnel would benefit from advanced mental health crisis response training consisting of at least 40 hours of instruction and annual refresher training consisting of at least eight-hours.
City Response to Finding 4b: Disagree partially with an explanation. Officers are provided mandated training in the POST Law Enforcement Academy on persons with Mental Illness, Intellectual Disability, or Substance Use Disorder.
The specific training time suggested by the Grand Jury, while desirable, may not be performed in all cases as other annual training is also prioritized. The Santa Maria Police Department is dedicated to ensuring officers and supervisors are provided ongoing training as it rela tes to persons suffering from a mental health crisis.
Finding 5: Lawfully shared data collection and analysis among multiple Santa Barbara County law enforcement agencies (Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office, Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Of fice, Santa Barbara County Public Defender, Santa Barbara County Probation Department), the municipal police departments in Santa Barbara County (Guadalupe, Lompoc, Santa Barbara, and Santa Maria), mental health (County Behavioral Wellness) and public heal th (County Public Health) agencies would provide relevant county personnel with better tools to effectively serve community members with mental health illness.
City Response to Finding 5: Agree. Sharing information that may lawfully be disseminated would result in the County of Santa Barbara Mental Health department better performing its function, which would be desirable. Santa Maria Police Department is commit ted to assisting the County and medical community provide for the needs of community members with mental health illness.
Recommendation 4a: That by the end of the first quarter of 2023-2024 all cities in Santa Barbara County with their own police depart ments, i.e., cities of Guadalupe, Lompoc, Santa Barbara, and Santa Maria, provide funding for advanced mental health crisis response training for patrol officers and supervisory personnel consisting of at least 40 hours of instruction and annual refresher training consisting of at least eight hours.
City Response to Recommendation 4b: Disagree partially with an explanation.
Officers are provided mandated training in the POST Law Enforcement Academy on persons with Mental Illness, Intellectual Disability, or Substance Use Disorder. The specific training time suggested by the Grand Jury, while desirable, may not be performed in all cases as other annual training is also prioritized. The Santa Maria Police Department is dedicated to ensuring officers and supervisors are provided ongoing training as it relates to persons suffering from a mental health crisis.
Recommendation 5:
That by the end of the first quarter of 2024 Santa Barbara County, the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office, Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, Santa Barbara County Public Defender, Santa Barbara County Probation Department, and all local municipal city councils with police agencies (Guadalupe, Lompoc, Santa Barbara, and Santa Maria), mental health (County Behavioral Wellness), and public health (County Public Health) agencies adopt relevant recommendations for more effective data sharing in the
referenced San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) study.
City Response to Recommendation 5: Agree. Sharing information that may lawfully be disseminated would result in the County of Santa Barbara Mental Health department better performing its function, which would be desirable.
Santa Maria Police Department is committed to assisting the County and medical community provide for the needs of community members with mental health illness.
ALICE M. PATINO
Mayor
cc: Santa Barbara County Grand Jury