Sheriff Kendall balks at activist call for independent audit of MCSO—supes form committee to study issue

MENDOCINO Co., 5/26/21 — At an otherwise routine Tuesday Zoom meeting during which the Board of Supervisors were mostly ambivalent about a proposal by local social justice groups for a third party audit of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), Sheriff Matt Kendall provided the fireworks.

Kendall gave an impassioned speech about the risks deputies face, victims and accountability, and asked three times if the effort was a “witch hunt.” He described the work the sheriff’s office has to do everyday is combatting “a dragon with a needle.”