Sacramento hires first inspector general to investigate police misconduct
Sacramento has hired Dwight White, a former investigator at Chicago’s civilian agency that probes police misconduct, to serve as the city’s first inspector general to review use-of-force cases involving the police department.
The new job — created in the wake of racial unrest last summer after the police killing of George Floyd — is intended to bring greater transparency to a local police department that has faced its own reckoning in the years following the high-profile killing of Stephon Clark, an unarmed Black man.
The position was one of two significant police reforms passed last summer. City Council also approved a plan to divert calls related to mental health crises, the homeless and other nonviolent offenses away from police officers and instead to non-police trained professionals. The program, which has been criticized by some activists, isn’t expected to be fully implemented until July 2022
As inspector general, White will independently investigate police shootings and use-of-force incidents that result in serious injury or death, and cases of sexual assault involving the department. He will share his findings publicly about whether department policies were violated, and also recommend whether officers should be disciplined. The ultimate decision of whether to fire an officer would remain with the city manager.
Sacramento already has a citizen police review commission, but the inspector general is intended to serve as an impartial investigator with formal expertise and knowledge of police tactics and polices.
“I thought this would be the perfect chance for me to make a difference and to move society forward,” White said, according to a post on the mayor’s website.
Before moving to Sacramento, White was an attorney and certified Illinois lead homicide investigator, according to the city. He was previously a member of the Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which investigates police misconduct allegations and offers recommendations on whether an officer should be disciplined or fired.
White’s work history also includes over three years as a cadet, a part of the Chicago Police Department.
This story was originally published April 13, 2021 at 4:11 PM.