AnonymousSource: Santa Barbara County Grand Jury
Pursuant to California Penal Code section 919, the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury is vested with the authority to inquire into the condition and operation of the County Jail, including investigating inmate deaths while in custody.
The 2018-2019 Jury investigated the July 2018 suicide death of an inmate who had been taken into custody only hours earlier and was expected to be released the following day. The Jury learned that the inmate had exhibited self-harming behavior at the time he was arrested and transported to the Jail and had a prior arrest record that disclosed a 5150 mental health hold that was written based on danger to self.
The Jury determined the Sheriff’s personnel and staff of Wellpath, the County’s contract medical provider, should have recognized that this individual was at risk of self-harm while in custody and have taken readily available measures to reduce that risk. Along with eight other recommendations, the Jury calls for the Sheriff to review the department’s training, policies and practices for promptly identifying arrestees who are at risk of self-harm and to make needed changes to avoid similar tragedies.
The entire report, “Suicide in Custody” is available here.
Read the report. I finally found that elusive obstruction of justice Nadler and crew have been searching for right in our own SBSO.
Pretty sickening: “First, throughout the investigation, the Sheriff’s Office impeded the Jury’s ability to obtain what we believed to be highly relevant documents and information, by ignoring requests, making delayed or partial responses, or flatly refusing to honor requests. On more than one occasion, the Jury needed to make two or more follow-up requests before the documents were produced. Moreover, a specific request for the production of important internal investigative reports pertinent to our inquiry – Risk Assessment Unit (RAU) and Criminal Investigation Division (CID) reports in particular – at first was ignored, and ultimately rejected.”
I respect law enforcement for the difficult job most of them do well. My grandfather was a local police officer. However, I must point out as a responsible citizen that the SBSO is thoroughly incompetent and backwards as an institution. The main jail is in shambles and overcrowded and a coherent response to homelessness and the mental health crisis is virtually nonexistent. Every interaction I have had with a Sheriff deputy as a law-abiding citizen has been negative and condescending. SBSO needs to improve before they are faced with a crisis that they cannot handle.
First of all, I should disclose that AB was a good friend and my stepson’s best friend. AB was troubled and was in a difficult situation while living with and attempting to take care of his mother. He struggled with substance abuse issues as well as depression but he was a delight most of the time and he was loved by many.
After reading the report it is very clear to me the the Sheriff Dept. and Wellpath were negligent! They deserve to be sued and I hope the family pursues a lawsuit.
Don’t be surprised when the Sheriff Dept. responds to the Grand Jury that they disagree with the findings in the report.
Sad for his family. Hopefully they do not file suit against the county and we all end up paying for Sheriff’s office errors.
Thank you 4687.
Another proof that the Sheriff should not be the mental health institute of the county. The money that the Board of Supervisors gave them to build the nonsensical North County jail could easily have built a series of out patient and even locked care psychiatric units around the county that would give actual care and hope to the needful. Putting mentally stressed and incapacitated people into a prison type environment just to build the Sheriff’s empire is sick itself.
Read the report. I finally found that elusive obstruction of justice Nadler and crew have been searching for right in our own SBSO.
Voters passed the MHSA in 2004 to take these mental cases off the streets. Billions of dollars have been raised, but the Little Hoover Commission could not find out what happened to any of that money. The money for lock-down care institutions has now been flowing into the state for over 15 years. We need both – larger jails to get more criminals off the street and lock-down care institutions for those who simply cannot function on their own.. Hannah-Beth Jackson and Monique Limon have refused to be accountable for those lost billions of MHSA dollars raised since 2004.
Thanks Facto for keeping the stolen billions of state Mental Health dollars issue alive . Lest we forget!
This is an outright DISGUST!!! Several officers on the scene at AB’s home saw the behavior plain as day!!! The cameras in the patrol car captured EVERY THING .AB was screaming and most obviously unwell? The nurse, the guards , the intake personnel!!! Not 1 of them took a moment to read his previous( 1 time) history of 5150 . To NEGLECT their duty 100% is beyond wrong,LAZY , DISGUSTING, SHAMEFUL. The larger reports go to describe how 16 people stood around after” cutting down the body”, and not 1 motherfucker took control of the entire scene at all. Yes, resuscitation was attempted, but all onlookers did nothing but watch. The equipment to resuscitate a person wasn’t working, and initially the staff didn’t even know where to find it..,???? Are you fucking kidding me??? There was no way to suction out his airways because Sherriff Brown is so busy smiling for cameras. Your all a disgrace to your community and humanity. I spent 20 years with this kind soul. Troubles and all.