Sacramento's new Inspector General starts job, will review future police use of force cases

Dwight White has arrived in Sacramento and started his new job as the first Inspector General for the City. He will use his extensive experience as an investigator for Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability to independently review use of force cases involving members of the Sacramento Police Department.

“I thought this would be the perfect chance for me to make a difference and to move society forward,” said White. An attorney and a Certified Illinois Lead Homicide Investigator, White previously conducted investigations involving members of the Chicago Police Department.

“I love being an investigator; I love being impartial,” he said.

The role of Inspector General was approved by the City Council last July at the urging of Mayor Darrell Steinberg following mass protests over the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. At the same time, the Council approved shifting a significant amount of the calls now handled by police to the City’s new Department of Community Response, which will employ social workers to respond to calls that don’t involve crimes.

Working in the City’s Office of Public Safety Accountability, White will conduct independent investigations and make recommendations for officer termination or discipline in cases where use of force results in death or serious injury, and in cases of sexual assault. Those recommendations will be made public concurrently with the City Manager’s decision on what action to take.

“It’s a big check,” Mayor Steinberg said. “The public will be able to compare and contrast the IG’s findings and recommendations with the City Manager’s.”

Mayor Steinberg had pushed for the IG findings to be made public before the City Manager decided what action to take, but was advised that this timing is not permitted by the City charter.

Prior to the January 2019, little information could be made public about police personnel decisions, even when deadly force was used. SB 1421 broadly allows the release of records in use-of-force cases and sexual assaults. This new legislation paved the way for the creation of the IG position in Sacramento.

Below see a description of the Inspector General’s duties: