At least one deputy with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office did not “act within the law” when investigating last year’s assault of a gay man in Guerneville. The assault happened in April of 2023 when Isaac Featherston was attacked by a man that threatened to kill him and possibly drugged him inside Featherson’s own room. The San Francisco man claimed that the sheriff’s office did not effectively communicate with him, failed to follow up on the information he provided and didn’t promptly collect evidence. The Press Democrat reports that during an internal investigation of the case, a letter was sent to Featherston saying that personnel, including Deputy Joseph Nouguier, “did not act within the law and office policy and procedure” during the investigation. The letter stated that Deputy Nouguier had been disciplined but didn’t explicitly say how. An IOLERO audit of the investigation is ongoing.
Sonoma County Sheriff’s Deputies Committed Errors Investigating an Assault on a Gay Man
