Board of Supervisors to Consider Appointment of Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach Director

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will consider the appointment of a Sonoma County private attorney to fulfill the role as the new director of the Independence Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach (IOLERO).

At its upcoming board meeting on March 12, the board will consider the appointment of Karlene Navarro as the next IOLERO Director. Navarro would be replacing the former IOLERO Director, Jerry Threet, who retired March 4, 2019.

“The County and our Board of Supervisors conducted an extensive search and thorough interview process to find the right candidate for the job,” said Board Chair David Rabbitt. “We are confident that Ms. Navarro has the qualifications, background and integrity to carry out the difficult responsibilities of this position which the public rightfully deserves.”

Karlene Navarro, of Petaluma, is an attorney and law professor at the University of San Francisco where she taught Legal Research, Writing and Analysis this past fall. From 2014 to 2018, she was in private practice where she maintained a mixture of retained and court-appointed cases comprised mostly of serious and violent felonies. In addition to her work as a trial attorney, Navarro was an appellate attorney from 2016 to 2018 with both the First District Appellate Project and the Sixth District Appellate Program. From 2007 to 2014, Navarro worked as a deputy public defender.

In a letter highlighting her qualifications for the job, Navarro wrote, “As a result of my work as a criminal defense attorney, I have developed a deeper understanding of the complex and nuanced interplay of law enforcement officers’ duties, criminal defendants, the community at large, the criminal justice system and the media.” Navarro says, “when community members are not treated fairly and with dignity, trust and respect for law enforcement and the criminal justice system erodes.”

She continued, “At the same time, law enforcement officers are tasked with the tremendous responsibility of keeping us safe while negotiating dangerous and volatile situations. If there is a communication gap between law enforcement and the community regarding the unique and important experiences of either group, or the community does not feel like it has a forum where it can express its grievances, we all lose.”

If the Board of Supervisors votes to approve Navarro for the position, she will begin work immediately.