Sheriff Opposes County Supervisors’ Allegations of Prison Mismanagement | New

[ad_1]

Ailing Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith said Tuesday she would support investigations into her handling of the county’s prison system and other allegations, including possible political influence, which have been raised by the supervisors Joe Simitian and Otto Lee.

With a third lawsuit against the county over an incident at Elmwood Correctional Facility and Main Prison in four years that resulted in the near-fatal injury and paralysis of an inmate potentially resulting in millions of dollars in damages, supervisors said they were fed up with what they described as mismanagement and lack of transparency.

Simitian said he was shaken by videos of a separate incident in August 2018, when a man in a mental health crisis was not adequately protected from self-harm when officers knew he was suicidal . As a result, the man suffered severe brain damage and must now be taken care of by his parents. The county settled the lawsuit for $ 10 million.

During a nearly hour-long press conference Tuesday morning, Smith defended his office’s progress on prison reform. She has categorically said she will not resign, despite San José Mayor Sam Liccardo’s call for her resignation on Monday. Smith said Liccardo should do his own job “instead of being the spokesperson for the Mercury News,” which has published numerous investigative articles regarding his tenure. She also questioned the county’s own transparency.

“As there continues to be a lot of speculation and inference, I welcome all inquiries. It is really important that experts provide a thorough examination of some of the things that have been stated so that we can get the facts. real, “she said.

Smith added that since Simitian and Lee allege violations of federal, constitutional and civil rights, there should be an FBI investigation in addition to those requested by Simitian and Lee. The two supervisors made numerous allegations of mismanagement and lack of transparency in a referral to the board, which was to be discussed in front of the entire supervisory board on Tuesday.

Simitian and Lee want a confidential 19-page county council report released to investigative agencies. The report concerned an incident in which severely mentally ill man Andrew Hogan, while not strapped in and without proper head protection gear, repeatedly hit his head in a transport van, causing crippling brain injury.

While Smith supports the inquiries requested, the only caveat would be to post gruesome videos of the incident, she said. Releasing the videos publicly could be traumatic for Hogan and his parents.

In support of his position, Smith introduced Paula Canny, the defense attorney who represented Hogan. Canny said she didn’t want the videos made public without the consent of Hogan’s parents. Neither Hogan nor his parents saw the 38 videos related to the incident. Canny tried to get the county videos, which should first be viewed by Hogan and his parents before any content is posted in order to protect his right to privacy, she said.

Canny also emphatically expressed his support for Smith and the prison staff. The sheriff’s office is crippled by the county’s systemic failure to provide mental hospital beds and services. People with serious mental disorders who are accused of minor offenses cannot be properly treated in prison, she said. She didn’t blame the sheriff or his staff, Canny said.

“We have a fundamentally broken system,” Canny said. She blamed a lack of services and of judges and district attorneys who charge and incarcerate people with severe mental disorders. Prisons are becoming treatment beds by default, she said.

Another of his clients was Michael Tyree, who was awaiting a treatment bed in 2015 while in the main prison for a minor misdemeanor. He became combative and was beaten to death by three prison guards. The officers were convicted of second degree murder in this case; the county shelled out $ 3.6 million in a lawsuit settlement.

Smith opened a quick investigation into Tire’s murder. “She is responsible for this lawsuit,” Canny said.

“I found Sheriff Smith to be super responsive,” she added.

Canny blamed the lack of funding as the real culprit behind the violent incidents in prison. Of the roughly 2,500 people in the county who are incarcerated in jails, around 80% are remanded and over 25% suffer from serious mental health issues, but there is no place to put them, she declared.

“I’m surprised more things aren’t happening. The sheriff shouldn’t be responsible for treating people with mental illness. Mental health is not a criminal justice issue, it is a public health issue. “she said. “What people need to recognize and what people need to fund are more mental health beds. “

Santa Clara County has 246 mental health beds to serve its population of nearly 2 million and needs an additional 960 beds to significantly address the problem, she said.

Smith also put the burden of custody issues on the county, which reduced his budget. The county demolished the South Main Jail on San Pedro Street in the summer of 2020 and the facility has yet to be replaced. The sheriff’s office is offering a new 500-cell jail on the site for an estimated $ 380-390 million.

Last October, then-supervisor Dave Cortese noted that restrictions related to COVID-19 have led the county to reduce the number of inmates through other non-custodial programs, a model which in the event of success, could do away with the county jail system. Instead, the county could consider investing in mental health facilities and services, including a possible treatment center run by health officials instead of the sheriff’s office. Smith has not said whether she supports the idea, but in the meantime the lack of proper facilities for mentally ill inmates remains a desperate problem.

Smith rebuffed claims she “wasted” $ 450 million over multiple lawsuits and two consent orders requiring public funds to improve prison conditions and operations. Of that, $ 162 million was spent by the county on construction projects, including making prisons compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. An additional $ 68 million was spent on health services related to detention. The sheriff’s office received $ 21 million of the $ 450 million, but has had to downsize since 2019 by 133 employees. “We are sorely understaffed,” she said, adding that this posed a danger to staff and detainees.

Challenging Simitian and Lee’s claims that she was not transparent, Smith said the county lacks transparency. The county hired a contractor for $ 225,000 to conduct a staffing study, but it is not made public. She said she would assume the study would show how understaffed the county is.

Smith said the sheriff’s office had made significant prison reforms as a result of meeting the terms of the two consent decrees, particularly around ADA compliance and the use of solitary confinement. In 2015 and 2016, more than 100 people were in solitary confinement. Today there are only 10. Only inmates who present an extreme danger are housed in segregation units, she said.

Based on the terms of a consent decree from the Cole v. Disability Discrimination lawsuit. County of Santa Clara sheriff’s office created a new ADA compliant policy, gave ADA staff training, created an ADA grievance process, made ADA compliant structural improvements, and created a system for follow-up to monitor and report all inmate housing and needs related to ADA.

The Sheriff’s Office also has a system in place for use of force grievances, implied bias and crisis response training, as well as a system where incidents are assessed by the unit. Internal Affairs, Prison Crimes Unit, and Federal Use of Force Controllers. The Sheriff’s Office has also developed a process to identify and investigate behaviors that fall under the Prison Rape Elimination Act. The sheriff’s office met all 45 standards that were audited in the last audit cycle for sexual assault in prisons.

When asked to identify the office’s shortcomings, Smith said it was about change.

“Change is not as fast as I would like. Culture change takes time,” she said. “I never feel like I’ve done enough.”

On Tuesday, the supervisory board unanimously backed the disclosure of confidential documents, videos and other information to investigative agencies. Supervisors instructed staff to investigate mental health services provided in the prison and add the Department of Justice to the list of investigative agencies to receive the information.

The council also asked staff to clarify what steps they can take to reshape the prison system. Prior to 2010, prisons were run by the head of correction. The contract that gave the sheriff control of prison operations expires next year. Management could fall to the Department of Corrections, noted supervisor Susan Ellenberg.

On Tuesday, the supervisory board unanimously backed the disclosure of confidential documents, videos and other information to investigative agencies. Supervisors instructed staff to investigate mental health services provided in the prison and add the Department of Justice to the list of investigative agencies to receive the information.

The council also asked staff to clarify what steps they can take to reshape the prison system. Prior to 2010, prisons were run by the head of correction. The contract that gave the sheriff control of prison operations expires next year. Management could fall to the Department of Corrections, noted supervisor Susan Ellenberg.

[ad_2]