On July 24, lawyers from the Los Angeles County Office of Independent Review started interviewing police officers, city personnel, and other individuals with close ties to the Santa Maria Police Department as part of a third-party investigation.
City Manager Rick Hayden requested that the Office of Independent Review conduct an audit of the police department after the shooting death of police officer Albert Covarrubias, Jr., in January.
In an interview with the Sun, Hayden said the office has been doing background research for quite some time. On July 24, four lawyers traveled to Santa Maria to begin interviewing city and police department personnel, as well as members of the Santa Maria Police Officers Association.
This article appears in Jul 26 – Aug 2, 2012.
