The new executive officer at the San Diego County Citizens’ Law Enforcement Review Board is no stranger to law and order.
Brett Kalina, a newly retired supervisory special agent with the FBI, was announced Wednesday as the new leader of the county’s civilian oversight board that serves as an outside check on the Sheriff’s and Probation departments.
Kalina retired from federal law enforcement earlier this month, after he was formally offered the county job. The 20-year FBI agent was chosen as executive officer earlier this summer, but the announcement was delayed while Kalina went through the hiring process.
The county did not make Kalina available for an interview. He begins work on Tuesday.
Kalina will succeed former executive officer Paul Parker, who quit earlier this year out of frustration that the oversight body was not doing enough to reform the Sheriff’s Department.
MaryAnne Pintar, the newly seated chair of the civilian oversight board, said Kalina is the right person for the job.
“Brett has extensive experience with complex, high-profile investigations involving narcotics trafficking, violent crimes, complicated forensic evidence and diverse communities,” she said in a statement.
“Since CLERB’s primary function is investigative, Brett’s deep well of knowledge will serve CLERB’s mission extremely well,” she added.
The review board was established in the early 1990s to serve as an independent body overseeing the work of the Sheriff’s and Probation departments.
The board reviews critical incidents like jail deaths and misconduct complaints against deputies and probation officers. It also makes recommendations on policy changes and disciplinary actions against sworn personnel who violate rules.
Under Parker, who now runs the city of San Diego police oversight board, the county Citizens’ Law Enforcement Review Board began asserting more authority than it did under prior executive officers.
Among other things, Parker pushed the volunteer board to be more aggressive in issuing policy violations against deputies and probation officers.
He also sought to expand the board’s authority to include jail medical staff, whom he said were often responsible for deaths and serious injuries inside San Diego County jails.
More than 240 people have died in local jails over the past two decades, according to multiple outside investigations. Many of those deaths were the result of lapses in the quality of medical care provided to people in custody, a 2022 state audit found.
The Board of Supervisors has yet to expand the review board’s authority to include doctors and nurses.
Kalina, who is 53, earned a bachelor of arts in psychology from the University of North Dakota in 1993, according to his LinkedIn profile. He enrolled in law school the same year and earned a juris doctorate in 1996, although he does not practice law.
He was hired as a full-time FBI special agent in 2004 and was promoted to supervisory special agent in 2021.
Among other duties, Kalina managed a transnational organized crime task force. He also is a certified instructor in diversity and inclusion and directed initiatives that led to updating language policies within the bureau.
“Kalina has been recognized for nurturing equal opportunity in the workplace and for his work to promote diversity and inclusivity in policing,” Pintar said.
The new executive officer will be pressed into service as soon as he assumes his new responsibilities. The review board is scheduled to meet Tuesday night to debate a series of misconduct and other complaints.
