During the virtual town hall, Alden repeatedly faulted Sonoma County Sheriff Eddie Engram\u2019s refusal to order his staff to answer questions as the reason IOLERO\u2019s review of the shooting remains incomplete.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was the most significant impediment we had to gathering the evidence we wanted to gather in this case,\u201d Alden said. \u201cIn our written report, we go through many of the questions we would\u2019ve liked to have asked but couldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
The investigation of the 2022 shooting was the first time IOLERO attempted to exercise expanded powers to directly interview officers involved in incidents under investigation, Alden said.<\/p>\n
Dietrick left the Sonoma County Sheriff\u2019s office before IOLERO\u2019s investigation. But Deputy Anthony Powers, who deployed a taser, and the supervising Berg both refused to answer IOLERO\u2019s questions. In response to subpoenas, the deputies showed up to the interview but invoked their Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate themselves.<\/p>\n That is their right as public employees, Alden said at the public forum, but also a reason why Engram should have issued what\u2019s known as a Lybarger warning \u2014 a notice issued to public employees during administrative investigations with a promise that anything they say will not be used against them in any criminal proceeding.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aWe had asked the sheriff to issue that order in this case to the deputies that came to us when we were trying to interview them, and he declined,\u201d Alden said Monday. \u201cWe haven\u2019t received a reason back that we found credible.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.kqed.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/08\/David-Pelaez-Chavez.jpeg\")