Merrick Bobb died at 79 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He lived in Los Feliz for more than 40 years, had four grandchildren and spoke several languages. He became an early champion of civilian oversight of law enforcement. He accomplished significant oversight work after contracting Guillain-Barré syndrome in 2003, which left his hands and legs effectively paralyzed. Beginning in 1993, he served for two decades as special counsel to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, delivering semiannual reports that exposed violence in county jails and excessive force and prompted reforms. The board created the Office of Inspector General in 2014 and dismissed him amid criticism over jail problems.
Merrick Bobb, one of the godfathers of the modern police oversight movement in Los Angeles and beyond, has died. He was 79. Bobb, whose health had deteriorated in recent years, died Thursday night at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A., his two children, Matthew and Jonathan, confirmed Friday. A Los Feliz resident for more than 40 years, Bobb had four grandchildren, was fluent in several languages and was respected as one of the earliest champions of civilian oversight of law enforcement.
"He was always a person who was really engaged in the world," Jonathan said in an interview with him and his brother. "I think that growing up in the 1950s and 1960s with the civil rights movement and other associated movements was very seminal for him in terms of instilling belief in justice [and] understanding the voices of traditionally underrepresented groups."
For two decades beginning in 1993, Bobb served as special counsel to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. In that position, he delivered semiannual reports that detailed pervasive issues within the department, from widespread violence in the county's jails to excessive force, driving a number of reforms in the department. In 2014, the board created the Office of Inspector General and dismissed Bobb from his role with the county.
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