Department of Justice offices in downtown Los Angeles.

“Amid concerning levels of in-custody deaths, troubling allegations of excessive force, and other misconduct, many families of Riverside County and others are hurting and looking for answers … we’re launching this investigation today.”

The total of 18 deaths last year was double the county’s per-year average, which previously stood at nine, according to Sheriff Chad Bianco.

The sheriff said previously that at least five of the deaths were the result of inmates overdosing after ingesting fentanyl, a powerful opioid increasingly showing up on the streets of Southern California and in the region’s jails. Among the other deaths were instances of medical emergencies, suicide and at least two killings by other inmates.

In a letter sent to a state board overseeing California’s jails, the ACLU and other organizations said they were concerned about reports of the Sheriff’s Department failing to provide inmates “the medical and mental health care they need.”

Bonta would not say whether that letter led him to decide to launch the investigation. His office already is continuing an investigation started under his predecessor, Xavier Becerra, into potential civil rights violations in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department over reports of deputy gangs within its ranks.

The review, called a “patterns-and-practices” investigation, will broadly analyze whether the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department has systemically violated the constitutional rights of thousands of inmates in their custody.

Bonta would not say whether any of the deaths in particular raised concerns with him. He said his office would “identify or compel the correction of any violations” if they’re found.

He said Riverside County jails, which typically hold around 3,500 inmates at any given time, in 2022 showed a per-capita rate of death of inmates that was “among the highest” of any jail system in the state. He said his office compared the county to other large jail systems in California, though he wouldn’t name them.

In its letter, the ACLU noted San Diego County jails had 19 inmates who died in the same year, one more than Riverside County. But they said San Diego usually houses around 500 more inmates than Riverside County.

Last September, the family of Richard Matus, Jr., who died in August 2022 at the Byrd Detention Center in French Valley, took the first step in filing a potential lawsuit against RCSD. Their attorney, Christian Contreras, criticized the department for what he said was “mysteriousness and the secrecy that the county is engaging in.”

“They’re not providing the families any information whatsoever,” he said.

At the time, Bianco said the lack of transparency was the result of not releasing the preliminary findings in the cause of deaths of inmates. He said the coroner’s office, which he oversees, could update the causes of death in the department’s public releases of death information.

While Riverside County is one of the largest jail systems in the state, it’s a fraction of the size of L.A. County’s jail system. In December 2022, L.A. County housed around 14,000 inmates in its jails.

While it’s not clear how many inmates actually died in L.A. County that year, Bianco said there were more inmates who died in his jail system.

“We had more,” he said.

He said the Sheriff’s Department reviewed every death in the system last year.

“This year … there’s absolutely no way you can quantify the ‘why’ (they happened)” Bianco said in a phone interview.

He said Bonta and the media were focused on the 18 who died in 2022, but not the “160-something people that either overdosed or tried to kill themselves” that his jail staff helped, preventing their deaths.

“Every time we have one, we look into what happened — there’s nothing more important than the death of a human being,” he said.

The sheriff said he would cooperate with Bonta’s investigation. But he called the review a “stunt” and a “witch hunt.”

“(Bonta’s office) sent me an email a couple of hours after his little announcement,” Bianco said.

“I know how this is going to go: We have to meet and the investigation has to start. Whatever we have, we will give it to them gladly, we will start scheduling those meetings. We are willing to give them everything we have.

“We know they are going to find nothing,” Bianco continued.

Growing incensed, the sheriff said he believed Bonta’s investigation was a waste of taxpayer resources.

“Of course I’m not happy, this is going to waste our time,” he said. “Every single one of these inmate deaths was out of anyone’s control. The fact of the matter is that they just happened to be in our custody.”

Bianco said he would pledge to release information about the investigation if it moves forward.

“You can mark my words, the attorneys will be jumping down my throat, trying to make me stop. Bonta will say nothing can be released. BS,” he said. “The public does have the right to know and I’m going to tell them.”