If you have a complaint against a police officer or sheriff's deputy, you should first direct your complaint to the local law enforcement agency regardless of whether you are alleging criminal or non-criminal misconduct. Each law enforcement agency in California is required by Penal Code section 832.5 to establish a procedure to investigate complaints. You can obtain a written description of the procedures from the law enforcement agency.
If you are alleging that a law enforcement officer committed a crime and your complaint is not resolved by your complaint to the agency, you should next contact the county district attorney in the county where the law enforcement agency is located. Most complaints against local law enforcement can be resolved by contacting the aforementioned agencies.
If these agencies do not act on your complaint within a reasonable period of time, you may file a complaint with the Attorney General's Office. The Attorney General will review citizen complaints against a law enforcement agency or its employees for possible investigation when substantive allegations of unlawful conduct are made and all appropriate local resources for redress have been exhausted.