Federal lawsuits mount against Calif. sheriff’s office over surge in jail deaths

Last year, 18 inmates died while in the custody of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, double the average number of jail deaths

June 05, 2023 11:25 AM

The lawsuits accuse the county of “negligence, wrongful death, medical malpractice and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other complaints.”

By Sal Rodriguez
The Press-Enterprise

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Attorneys and family members of deceased jail inmates announced three federal lawsuits against Riverside County following a troubling spike in jail deaths.

According to KABC, the lawsuits accuse the county of “negligence, wrongful death, medical malpractice and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other complaints.”

Last year, 18 inmates died while in the custody of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, double the average number of jail deaths.

The surge in jail deaths prompted California Attorney General Rob Bonta to announce a sweeping investigation into the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department earlier this year.

The department was most recently in the news for a totally farcical incident in which deputies handed off 60 pounds of methamphetamine to a suspected drug dealer, then lost track of it all.

Before that, the department had to settle another federal lawsuit from an elderly Lake Elsinore couple after “deputies broke down multiple doors inside” of the couples’ home and conducted a warrantless (and fruitless) search.

Sheriff Chad Bianco also has not delivered on campaign promises to reduce contract costs to cities for sheriff’s department services.

And back in 2021, the American Civil Liberties Union and community groups warned, “For years, this department has demonstrated a pattern of racist policing practices, rampant patrol and jail deaths, and a refusal to comply with recommendations from oversight agencies and a court-mandated consent decree.” The department, the groups noted, had a relatively high rate of killings per arrest and an abysmally low clearance rate when it comes to solving homicides.

Los Angeles County, for example, has a Civilian Oversight Commission which offers recommendations into sheriff’s department policies and conducts community outreach.

Though not without flaws as far as how it has actually operated, Orange County established an Office of Independent Review to provide oversight over that county’s public safety departments.

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