The Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury investigated four recent deaths of Main Jail inmates and found that Sheriff’s Department custody personnel did not follow procedures in three of the cases.
Those
cases included two suicides and a man with potentially life-threatening medical
issues who, according to department policy, should never have been booked.
“The
Sheriff’s Department needs to upgrade training and review policies with staff
and Wellpath to avoid serious errors,” the jurors concluded, referencing the
company contracted for in-jail medical and mental-health services. “The sheriff
needs to insist on more adequate psychiatric responses from Wellpath.”
The
Sheriff’s Department is required to officially respond to the report’s findings
and recommendations within 90 days. Spokeswoman Raquel Zick said the department
will respond as required and has no comment.
Joseph
Frederick Rose, 47, was booked April 10, 2018, and was in custody at the Main
Jail for 14 months while his second-degree burglary case was continued 25
times, according to the Grand Jury report.
Rose,
identified as C1 in the report, had a “decades-long history of prior arrests,
detention, and mental-health issues with suicidal ideations.”
A
jail mental health psychiatrist from Wellpath diagnosed him with schizophrenia
and prescribed medications in August 2018, and there was no follow-up when Rose
stopped taking the medications, according to the report.
He
was assaulted and injured in jail in January 2019, and on June 25, 2019, he was
taken to a temporary cell after arguments with other inmates, the report said.
Rose
reportedly requested his own cell, and told a mental health clinician that he
would kill himself if he did not get a cell alone.
The
mental health professional determined that Rose was not a danger to himself,
according to the report, about 45 minutes before his suicide. That person did
not tell a supervisor or custody staff about the suicidal statement.
Soon
after, Rose was seen on video taking off his T-shirt and “experimenting by
tying it at varying heights on the bars of his cell.”
A
custody deputy walked by the cell while the shirt was tied to the bars, and
Rose was standing in the cell, but apparently did not notice.
Rose
hanged himself and was discovered by a custody deputy 12 minutes later,
according to the report.
No
pulse or vital signs were detected, and jail staff performed CPR. An automated
external defibrillator (AED) “indicated no shock was needed, as a pulse was
detected.”
An
American Medical Response ambulance transported Rose to Santa Barbara Cottage
Hospital, where he was removed from life support five days later.
“C1’s
threats of suicide were inadequately addressed despite the fact he had
previously been seriously assaulted at the jail. All threats of suicide must be
taken seriously,” the report said.
Inmates
threatening suicide should be housed in a safety cell and monitored more
frequently, jail staff need to be alert to items hanging from bars and take
action, and psychiatric services need to be provided to mentally ill inmates,
the Grand Jury concluded.
Rose’s
mental illness was not re-evaluated for 10 months before his suicide.
In
the death of Isaiah Joey Johnson, the Grand Jury “concluded that many of the
pertinent health rules, regulations and policies were not followed by the
Sheriff’s Department and its medical provider, Wellpath.”
Lompoc
police arrested Johnson, 23, on Oct. 19, 2019, on outstanding warrants and a
probation violation, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
When
he was booked, he reported suffering from mood disorders, anxiety and
post-traumatic stress disorder, and denied any drug or alcohol use, according
to the Grand Jury report.
Noozhawk
By Giana Magnoli, Noozhawk Managing Editor @magnoli
July 4, 2020
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