Sheriffs Office Issues Statement on Investigation into Allegations at West County Detention Facility

The following Statement was released on social media by the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff: 

This is an update on the status of the investigation currently in progress regarding complaints made by several female ICE detainees held in the West County Detention Facility in Richmond, California.

To date, Sheriff’s Office Internal Affairs Investigators have conducted over 110 interviews of both inmates and staff, reviewed hundreds of hours of building surveillance video, identified and inspected physical/documentary evidence (such as log books, booking information, bio-hazard red bag storage, etc.), and inspected the cells, bathrooms and open areas of the women’s dormitory.

The Office of the Sheriff has been in close communication with California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and his staff as it is working to complete this investigation. A.G. staff have already met with us and conducted a tour once, on November 16, 2017, and will be conducting another review at the facility soon.

The Sheriff’s Office will make its investigatory materials available to the Attorney General and have asked that he review our full investigation, and findings therein, when we complete the investigation on or about December 15, 2017.

“Although complaints such as excessive “lock down” time or improper use of biohazard bags are extremely rare within the jail system’s 1,600 inmates and detainees, the fact that some ICE detainees have made such allegations demands a full and thorough investigation, which is well underway,” said Contra Costa County Sheriff David Livingston. “We routinely pass stringent state and federal jail inspections and are committed to running safe, secure and Constitutionally compliant detention facilities.”

Source: Sheriffs Facebook Page