Contra Costa Sheriffs Office Disputes Series of SF Chronicle Columns, Calls it One-Sided!

The Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff issued the following response to allegations made about the West County Detention Facility in the SF Chronicle Newspaper.

According to the most recent column:

female detainees at their jail in Richmond were complaining that they were locked in their cells for 23 hours a day — with no bathroom access.

One of them, Dianny Patricia Menendez, a native of Honduras who had been jailed at the West County Detention Facility since May, begged an immigration judge in October to be deported rather than endure the jail conditions. She was deported last week.

Menendez was the first to tell me about detainees being forced to urinate and defecate in red plastic biodegradable bags that jail staff give them — because they’re locked into their toilet-less cells for hours on end. During a tour of the jail, I met more female inmates who shared similar stories.

Here is the response by the Sheriffs Office:

Allegations About the West County Detention Facility

The SF Chronicle newspaper has published a series of columns on claims being made by some female ICE detainees at the West County Detention Facility (WCDF) in Richmond.

There have been three columns and we understand there is another one coming soon.

Needless to say, the columns are negative towards the Office of the Sheriff and misleading. In spite of the reporter visiting WCDF and seeing things firsthand, few facts ever made it to the one-sided column.

It is important to note that the Office of the Sheriff did not arrest the ICE detainees nor is involved in their cases in any way. They are only housed at the WCDF.

The Office of the Sheriff would like to provide some facts:

• We have not directly received any complaints from the female ICE detainees regarding the conditions at WCDF.
• Inmates have keys to their own rooms.
• Inmates are free to leave their rooms to use the restrooms, go to programs, medical appointment or visits. Each building that houses inmates has 24 toilets available for use.
• Inmates are not locked in their rooms “23 hours a day.” A review of the video in the building shows the amount of free time all inmates receive, an amount which is in excess of that required by statute. The video also shows the rooms are unlocked for most of the day. Even when inmates should be in their rooms, their room doors are unlocked and they are free to leave to use the restroom as necessary.
• Inmates are locked down during counts and other operational needs. However, the amount of time the doors are locked by policy is minimal.
• All laws and regulations are followed at the WCDF and the facility routinely passes state and federal jail inspections.

The Deputy Sheriffs and staff who work at the WCDF are responsible for the care, custody and safety of all inmates, regardless of their immigration status. It is a role they take seriously, professionally and ethically.

Still, we do take the ICE detainees’ claims and allegations seriously and have launched a full investigation.