MARTINEZ — Contra Costa’s police chiefs’ association has quietly done away with a protocol that mandated a public hearing before a jury for all police killings and in-custody deaths, drastically scaling back public oversight that has existed for nearly a half-century.

A two-page amendment posted to a county website at the start of 2025 says that coroner’s inquest hearings — which for decades have been done for virtually all law enforcement-involved death — will now only occur if certain officials request them. The amendment attributes this change to “advancements in transparency,” implying that the digital age now makes such hearings obsolete.

The change was made by the county’s police chiefs’ association, which also includes the county Sheriff’s office, Probation Department, and Distric

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