Every year since 2001, the Sonoma County grand jury has reviewed what police call “critical incidents” – officer-involved shootings and the deaths of suspects or criminal defendants in custody. Until this year. The 2013-14 grand jury, whose term ended June 30, declined to examine such cases. That includes the October fatal shooting of teenager Andy Lopez by Sonoma County Sheriff's Deputy Erick Gelhaus, among other deaths involving law enforcement in the past year. Citing a lack of expertise, financial support and public misconceptions about their role, Sonoma County grand jurors decided to diverge from the longstanding custom.
