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Escalon council approves police response to San Joaquin County grand jury on cold cases; chief to update policy to include newer forensic options
Summary
Council voted to send the police chief's prepared response to the San Joaquin County civil grand jury regarding cold-case procedures and directed the chief to update the department policy; a local cold-case investigator urged including forensic genetic genealogy techniques.
The Escalon City Council approved sending a response drafted by the police chief to the San Joaquin County civil grand jury regarding the 2018–19 report on cold cases, and councilmembers heard public input urging the department to include newer forensic investigative tools in its procedures.
Chief (police chief) explained the department adopted a cold‑case policy in 2020 (initially Lexipol supplemental 06/18, later incorporated as 06/2001) after the grand jury’s earlier report. The chief said a response explaining why the department had not previously sent a formal reply was prepared and, if approved, would be transmitted to the civil grand jury.
Gabriela Vargas, who identified herself in public comment as a cold‑case investigator, recommended that any department policy updates explicitly reference modern investigative methods such as forensic investigative genetic genealogy and suggested the city consider using those tools earlier in investigations rather than letting cases sit cold for years. The chief acknowledged the advances in genetic genealogy and indicated the policy could be updated to reflect newer techniques.
Council action
Council approved the motion to send the drafted response to the civil grand jury. Councilmembers also asked the chief to revise the department’s cold‑case policy to include newer forensic techniques and to implement any administrative changes necessary. Staff clarified that updating the department policy is an administrative action the chief may implement without additional council approval, and the chief said he would incorporate the feedback.
Ending
The council authorized staff to transmit the prepared response to the civil grand jury and directed the police chief to update the department’s cold‑case policy to reflect current investigative options. The action resolves the outstanding follow‑up to the 2018–19 grand jury report; no additional budget appropriation was approved at this meeting.
