The American Civil Liberties Union in San Diego is requesting that the Sheriff's Department hurry up with the external audit it called for last August. The audit will examine the marked increase in fatal shootings by Sheriff's deputies in 2005. KPBS Reporter Amy Isackson has details.
Last year, Sheriffs deputies shot and killed seven people in San Diego County. That's triple the number of fatal officer involved shootings in 2004.
The Sheriffs Department has called for an audit and the County Supervisors have provided funding.
But the executive director of the ACLU in San Diego, Kevin Keenan, says he's deeply disturbed by the slow pace.
Keenan: "Everyday that passes, lives are at risk. We know that things need improvement. They know that things need improvement. So we want to make sure that things happen sooner rather than later. And that the auditors that they bring in aren't given a narrow mandate that'll prevent them from doing their job."
Undersheriff Bill Gore agrees the external investigation should probe deeply and says he'll make all officer involved shooting files available to the audit team. Amy Isackson, KPBS news.
