Several residents of Stanislaus County called on the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors last week to form a police review board after the arrest of a deputy on sex charges and other personnel matters.

In May Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Deputy Israel Morales, 30, of Hughson, was booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on felony charges relating to rape and kidnapping and multiple counts of solicitation of prostitution.

The arrest came weeks after the tragic murder-suicide in Hughson involving off-duty Deputy Sgt. Daniel Hutsell, 40, and his wife, Dinella Hutsell, 37. The deaths left behind two orphan girls.

Morales was the subject of a criminal investigation that began in March when an arrestee reported to a Hughson Police Services deputy that another deputy was engaging in sexual acts with women while on duty in the Hughson area. Morales was eventually placed on modified duty and stripped of his peace officer powers on May 6.

Morales had been employed by the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office since June 2018.

Sheriff Jeff Dirkse condemned Morales actions as “a serious breach of public trust and are completely contrary to the values and professional standards upheld by the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office.”

A woman who identified herself only as Roberta, criticized the Sheriff’s Department for waiting too long to get Morales off the streets.

 “He could have been sex trafficking people during that time,” she said. “We need to remember that Israel Morales is not the only person engaged in sex trafficking. We know there are other people in positions of power, perhaps locally engaged in sex trafficking or exploiting people, soliciting people who are being sex trafficked. Where is the accountability? We are demanding a Sheriff’s community police review board, as there is one in Modesto.”

She also suggested reallocating funding for the Sheriff’s Department and “towards community efforts to keep our community safe, whether that be Parks and Rec, whether that be more education on environmental issues, these are the things that are important for us in this community.”

Bianca Lopez with the Valley Improvement Project also called for a civilian review board of the Sheriff’s Department.

Lopez told supervisors: “We don’t trust the sheriffs. We don’t trust police. A civilian review board would help create a trustworthy network.”

Lopez said if supervisors don’t act to form such an oversight panel she vowed to see the matter placed on a future ballot.

“We have sheriffs who are harassing people in their homes. We have sheriffs who are terrorizing communities. We have sheriffs who are ignoring racist threats in our communities. We need accountability for these sheriffs, and we could do it with you, or we can do it with just the people.”

“I think we’re seeing a pattern of events, and certainly recently, that really chip away at that trust,” said a man who only gave a first name of Anthony. “And I think a civilian police review board would be a great way to try and build trust in the community.

A resident named Carla called for the Sheriff’s Department to place employees on leave immediately once serious allegations are made.

She also claimed deputies are not held accountable for excessive use of force, citing an incident in Patterson. Video of a traffic stop in Patterson that went viral showed a defiant and uncooperative black driver named Joshua Rhodes refusing orders to get out of the car during a traffic stop after he ran a red light. Deputy Alexander Helms had to Taser Rhoads and physically pull him out onto the ground after a struggle.

John Carlo of the Central Valley Black Indigenous People of Color Coalition, was dismissive of Rhoads’ “attitude – which I don’t think would lead, really, constitute really, justifiably tasering him and his girlfriend, punching him, and then pulling a gun out on him.”

Carlo addressed the Sheriff’s Department handling of Morales, saying “it’s very appalling that he was being investigated in March, but still able to patrol and stuff and that didn’t change until May.”

He also questioned how Hudsell was able to move up to the rank of sergeant and wondered if the department is fully vetting its employees.

“We want accountability,” said Carlo. “We want the people to have a say. We want that transparency. And I think basically condemning the behaviors is one thing, and just charging Israel Morales is one thing but, no, we need actual change when we need to preventative measures, folks. And we want y’all to engage with us in that. The Community Police Review Board is something that we have here in Modesto.”

Carlo also called on Stanislaus County to stand against federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in apprehending those who made their way into the state and county illegally.

“We don’t want them here in the community, because they terrorize communities,” said Carlo. “They separate families. Whether you’re documented or not, that doesn’t matter. You deserve to be there for the fact that you are a human being.”