Paul Gallegos to speak to code task force

Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos will attend the Code Enforcement Task Force meeting today in order to answer questions posed by task force members.

Humboldt County Community Development Director Kirk Girald will also attend today’s meeting....

According to past testimony from both Interim County Counsel Wendy Chaitin and Deputy County Counsel Richard Hendry, the District Attorney’s Office is supposed to have authority over code enforcement officers in the field, as they were deputized by his office.

Gallegos said in a previous interview with The Eureka Reporter that he didn’t want the “life and death” responsibility if someone was shot by a code enforcement officer when he has no oversight or authority over them.

He rescinded code enforcement officer’s police powers back in April, but Chaitin, who wasn’t sure if Gallegos could rescind that authority, voluntarily disarmed the officers.

The question of who has authority over code enforcement officers at any given time has been a topic of interest by the task force.

Both Girald and Gallegos are members of an oversight committee, not open to the public, which reviews procedures within the unit, as well as ongoing investigations.
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