Santa Clara County Supervisors Joe Simitian and Otto Lee are ratcheting up pressure on Sheriff Laurie Smith to disclose information related to jailhouse incidents over the past six years – incidents that resulted in one death and two severe injuries of mentally ill inmates and settlements in the millions of dollars.
Supervisors at their Tuesday meeting – scheduled after the Town Crier’s print deadline – will consider a host of possible actions proposed by Lee and Simitian, whose District 5 includes Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View. The actions include the release of information regarding the cases of Andrew Hogan and Martin Nunez. Both inmates suffered significant, life-altering injuries due to alleged negligence of jail staff.
Hogan suffered a traumatic brain injury after a psychiatric episode in 2018. Delays in treatment prompted his family to sue the county. The case was settled in excess of $10 million. Nunez is suing the county after being paralyzed from a 2019 incident, when he ran head-first into a metal door, resulting in spinal injuries. Delays in response, as well as rough treatment by correctional officers, are cited in his case.
Another high-profile case involved Michael Tyree, a mentally ill man beaten to death in 2015 by three correctional officers. The county was sued and settled for $3.6 million.
Also among Lee and Simitian’s eight requested actions: making public video and audio recordings of the Hogan incident; directing the Office of Correction and Law Enforcement Monitoring to review and recommend disciplinary actions, “or lack thereof,” related to personnel involved in the Hogan case;
referring the incidents to the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury for evaluation; and referring the incidents to the California attorney general for investigation “relating to a possible pattern or practice of unconstitutional corrections conduct and/or civil rights violations.”
The requests for information are spurred by inaction, even refusal, by Smith to address problems at the jail, which she has been responsible for overseeing since 2010. Smith has served as county sheriff since 1998.
“The jail has been the scene of a series of tragic and costly incidents, sometimes without explanation, and without apparent accountability,” the supervisors wrote. “And in the absence of greater transparency, the question of possible political influence looms large.”
According to Simitian and Lee, “efforts by the Board of Supervisors, county administration and members of the public to address mismanagement issues endemic to the jails have been repeatedly stymied, largely as a result of the sheriff’s assertion of her prerogatives as an independently elected official.”
Sheriff’s response
In response to a Town Crier inquiry to Smith, department spokesperson Russell Davis cited a series of reforms in recent years that have improved inmate conditions. He added that a new 535-bed main jail, set to open in 2024, “will have great medical, mental health, re-entry and rehabilitation space. Many improvements have been made to existing facilities including upgrades for those with disabilities and construction-related suicide prevention modifications.”
Davis also pointed to a staffing study that will “provide insight into the operational needs of what staffing levels will be essential to safely operate our jail facilities.”
He said the jail is “severely understaffed,” and “difficult to operate in a safe and secure manner.” Since 2019, the Sheriff’s Office decreased by 266 positions, to 1,779 employees, Davis noted.
The Sheriff’s Office contracts with the town of Los Altos Hills for law enforcement services.
Smith’s office appeared to shift the blame for the Nunez and Hogan incidents, indicating neither man should have been at the jail in the first place.
“Both were in custody for minor charges and should have been placed in treatment facilities, not a jail,” according to a statement from Smith. “I have long been a proponent of mental health treatment for individuals suffering from mental illness, not incarcerating them in a jail environment.”
Simitian countered that jail personnel are supposed to be prepared to handle anyone who arrives at the jail. In addressing the staffing shortage concerns, he noted the number of inmates has declined by half over the past decade while the Department of Corrections budget has cumulatively increased more than 40% since the 2012-2013 fiscal year.
He added that after Tyree’s death, a Blue Ribbon Commission generated 623 recommendations for jail reform. The county, Simitian said, spent approximately $78 million annually and $370 million in one-time funds to improve conditions in the jails – “with demonstrably insufficient impact.”
