"We invite all the stakeholders to the table so that we're discussing this together and we're looking at ways to make sure we're providing better service for our incarcerated population. “We're putting policies and practices in place so that we can make sure that when something like this happens, that we look at our policies, we look at our practices, we look at our services," said Modeste. Kari Malkki, a healing justice intern at Restore Oakland, addresses the crowd of demonstrators on the plaza in front of Santa Rita Jail on April 1, 2023. Modeste outlined various initiatives the Sheriff's Office has taken, including building a focus group and inviting community members to discussions with the executive staff and Sanchez about grievances working with federal monitors and attorneys who represent the incarcerated population on federal oversight working collectively with community-based partners sending out press releases when someone dies in custody and getting in touch with families. “It's difficult to see someone lose their life … We're not just sitting back and watching people die in our custody.” “We welcome peaceful protests and understand that the community and families are frustrated,” said Modeste. Tya Modeste, public information officer for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, said she was aware that the jail's “reputation wasn’t great in the past” and that “people found out their family members passed away by hearing it on the news,” but she says they’ve been working hard under the new sheriff, Yesenia Sanchez, to turn that around. Nelson added that the sheriff's department didn't acknowledge the murder publicly until a reporter months later reported it. “Losing a loved one who needs medical and mental health care while in the hands of our social and criminal justice system cuts to the heart with a different kind of pain - it’s deep.” She said her brother, Donald Nelson, died after he was fatally assaulted in a holding cell by another detainee just hours into custody. “The last time my brother Donald Nelson was able to walk, it was walking into this facility … that was May 1st, 2020,” said Norma Nelson. A meeting with the board about budget presentations will be held on April 11. The coalition demanded that the Alameda County Board of Supervisors investigate jail deaths and provide over $50 million for mental health services that were promised but have yet to be implemented. The resolution also called for creating a community-led process to establish behavioral/mental health care and social services. “At a certain point there is something called compassion, and we are sorely missing it as a society, particularly when it comes to Black and brown folks.”Īdvocates with the Care First Community Coalition pushed for the "Care First, Jails Last" policy resolution that was adopted by Alameda County in 2021, which set goals for law enforcement agencies in the county to stop the practice of arresting and jailing people dealing with mental health and/or substance use issues. “In the event that I'm out of control with a drug habit, should you take me to a drug program or should you take me to jail?” said Dorsey Nunn, executive director of the nonprofit Legal Services for Prisoners With Children. Dorsey Nunn, executive director of Legal Services for Prisoners With Children, speaks to a crowd of demonstrators in front of Santa Rita Jail. While some of the deaths have been attributed by jail officials to suspected fentanyl overdoses, protesters say the majority generally were caused by people not getting the care they needed (whether for mental illness or substance use disorder) in the facility. Demonstrators lay 66 painted signs on the plaza in front of the jail, each bearing the name of a person who died in the jail over the last decade. During the rally, protestors read the names of those who had died in the jail over the last nine years. The facility was placed under federal supervision in 2022 for at least six years to improve conditions for those experiencing mental illness. They should not have been incarcerated at Santa Rita Jail.” “They died after being evaluated … even though there were multiple red flags. “All four of those people died needlessly within days of their intake,” said Joy George with Restore Oakland, a community advocacy group. So far this year, there have been four deaths at Santa Rita Jail.
The Dublin-based jail is not only one of the largest detention facilities in the United States, it is also one of the most notorious, where major health and safety violations have been reported and where over 66 people have lost their lives since 2014.
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