Lawsuits filed after inmates deaths in San Bernardino County jails
After a series of deaths in San Bernardino County jails, a group gathered to protest in Joshua Tree Thursday morning. Attorneys along with several family members are accusing the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department of not doing enough to help inmates suffering from mental illness.
Passionate chants were heard across the street from the Joshua Tree jail. Family members angry at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, accusing them of neglecting their loved ones who died in custody this past year.
“And I don’t know what else to say, but I want my son back!” Cynthia Ames said. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t cry and he’s been gone since September.”
Emotions were raw for the mother of Henry Simmons, who clutched his ashes as she spoke. He was one of five inmates who died at county jails during the past several months. Lawsuits were filed against the sheriff’s department, with one case settling for nearly 2 million dollars. Attorneys say the inmates were not given the necessary hospital care, which resulted in their deaths, some by suicide.
{“url”:”https://twitter.com/JeremyChenKESQ/status/999692069617582080″,”author_name”:”Jeremy Chen”,”author_url”:”https://twitter.com/JeremyChenKESQ”,”html”:”&#lt;blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”&#gt;&#lt;p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”&#gt;Protesters are outside the &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/JoshuaTree?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;#JoshuaTree&#lt;/a&#gt; Courthouse and jail accusing the SB county Sheriffs dept. of neglecting inmates with mental illness in jail. &#lt;a href=”https://t.co/Ra1xsCC1dD”&#gt;pic.twitter.com/Ra1xsCC1dD&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/p&#gt;– Jeremy Chen (@JeremyChenKESQ) &#lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/JeremyChenKESQ/status/999692069617582080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”&#gt;May 24, 2018&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;n&#lt;script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″&#gt;&#lt;/script&#gt;n”,”width”:550,”height”:null,”type”:”rich”,”cache_age”:”3153600000″,”provider_name”:”Twitter”,”provider_url”:”https://twitter.com”,”version”:”1.0″}
“These individuals might have suffered from mental health issues. They were asking for help and instead what they got is their family member murdered,” Attorney Sharon Brunner said.
“You turned your back on him…now he’s dead. I’ll never have my child again.”
Tammy Shidler, the mother of Joshua Pitts, is still emotional and angry over her son’s death of an apparent suicide in March. She said correctional officers had knowledge of his fragile mental health which included feelings of suicide.
“And I’m sure and I know he felt hopeless I know he felt alone. My son killed himself in this place,” she said.
Attorneys said there need to be changes at the jails.
“They need better training. They need better supervision and they need to stop violating their own laws. None of these people should have been taken to the jails. All these people should have been taken to medical facilities,” Attorney James Terrell said.
Changes family members are hoping for.
“Something needs to be done at this jail. this whole county,” Ames said.
The Sheriff’s Department released the following statement relating to the issue of in-custody deaths.
“In custody, deaths are and always have been tragic. Our sympathies go out to the families and loved ones grieving,” reads a statement from Lieutenant Robert Warrick of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Public Affairs Division. “It is our department’s practice to refrain from discussing specifics related to individual cases involving pending litigation. The Sheriff and personnel of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department work diligently to ensure the safety of those in our custody.”
Download the KESQ & CBS Local 2 app on iTunes or Google Play for up-to-the-minute breaking news alerts & more
More: I-Team and Stands for You investigations
Find us on Facebook: KESQ News Channel 3 & CBS Local 2
Follow us on Twitter for breaking news updates: @KESQ & @Local2
We’re on Instagram! @KESQ_News_Channel_3 & @CBSLocal2
Noticias en español: Telemundo 15
