January 2024 Centralized Screening Monitoring Team Case Blocks

Amarik K. Singh OIG OFFICE of the Inspector General INSPECTOR GENERAL Neil Robertson Chief Deputy Inspector General January 2024 Centralized Screening Monitoring Team Case Blocks Independent Published in March 2024 Prison Oversight During January 2024, the OIG’s Centralized Screening Monitoring Team randomly selected 645 grievances for monitoring. This document presents 10 notable cases monitored and closed by the OIG during January 2024. OIG Case Number Rating Assessment 23-0068142-CSMT Poor Incident Summary Between September 28, 2023, and November 14, 2023, staff allegedly improperly housed a low security level incarcerated person on a higher security level yard. On November 14, 2023, a sergeant allegedly ignored an order to feed the incarcerated person in his cell, due to safety concerns stemming from being housed improperly, and used abusive language toward the incarcerated person. The incarcerated person later clarified the sergeant allegedly told him if he did not leave his cell and walk to the dining hall, he would not receive his meal. Disposition The Centralized Screening Team conducted a clarification interview regarding the allegation against the sergeant. Subsequently, the Centralized Screening Team identified the safety concerns and allegation that staff wrongly housed the incarcerated person as duplicative to a prior grievance and routed the allegation against the sergeant back to the prison as routine issues. The OIG did not concur because the Centralized Screening Team failed to conduct a thorough clarification interview. Case Rating Overall, the department performed poorly. Based on the documentation provided, the Centralized Screening Team identified the need for a clarification interview regarding the allegation that a sergeant used abusive language toward an incarcerated person. The OIG agreed that the sergeant’s alleged comment, while unprofessional, was a routine issue. However, after the incarcerated person alleged the sergeant stated the incarcerated person would not receive his meal if he did not go to the dining hall, despite having an order to feed the incarcerated person in his cell due to safety concerns, the interviewer failed to ask the incarcerated person if he received a meal. If the sergeant failed to feed the incarcerated person, the sergeant’s actions would have been staff misconduct. The OIG reviewed the interview notes and found the Centralized Screening Team did not clarify if the sergeant refused to feed the incarcerated person, which would have warranted a referral for staff misconduct. Page 1 of 8 10111 Old Placerville Road, Suite 110, Sacramento, California 95827 5 Telephone: (916) 288-4233 5 www.oig.ca.gov Amarik K. Singh OIG OFFICE of the Inspector General INSPECTOR GENERAL Neil Robertson Chief Deputy Inspector General January 2024 Centralized Screening Monitoring Team Case Blocks Independent Published in March 2024 Prison Oversight OIG Case Number Rating Assessment 23-0068762-CSMT / 24-0070947-CSMT Poor Incident Summary On November 15, 2023, high ranking prison officials and a lieutenant allegedly imposed a complete power outage at the prison that lasted until November 24, 2023, and resulted in inhumane living conditions for the incarcerated population, such as sewage and brown water emerging from sinks, undrinkable water, and unkempt portable toilets. During the power outage, custody staff allegedly did not wear body- worn cameras, used excessive force on multiple incarcerated persons, and refused to allow incarcerated persons access to medical or to file excessive force complaints. Custody and medical staff allegedly failed to respond to medical emergencies, and custody staff threatened the incarcerated population with physical force if they continued to request medical attention. Medical and custody staff allegedly deliberately overdosed the incarcerated population by requiring them to take their medications all at one time or not at all. Sergeants and medical staff allegedly told incarcerated people who were unable to use their breathing machines to “go to sleep and die;” they would rule their deaths as suicide. Kitchen staff allegedly served rotten food on dirty trays and told noncustody staff to serve the food even though the incarcerated population might get sick. Custody staff allegedly refused to allow incarcerated persons to have televisions, radios, and tablets, and said the department rules were meaningless. On November 15, 2023, custody and medical staff allegedly took all day to respond to a second incarcerated person’s medical emergency. A sergeant, nurses, and officers allegedly made unprofessional comments toward the second incarcerated person, and one nurse allegedly used profanity and said, “Your wife is going to pick you up in a body bag. If we murder you, we’ll be doing her a favor.” On November 16, 2023, custody and medical staff allegedly failed to respond to a medical emergency for a third incarcerated person. On November 17, 2023, one officer allegedly said that he did not have to wear his body camera, that he could say or do whatever he wanted, that he would make transgender incarcerated persons do a strip tease so he could see their “man boobs,” and he would show the transgender incarcerated persons his genitals. A second officer allegedly refused to allow a fourth incarcerated person to use the portable toilet and said he did not care if the fourth incarcerated person defecated on himself, and he would get everyone in the building to assault the fourth incarcerated person. Disposition The Centralized Screening Team identified a single claim contesting a power outage and routed the claim back to the prison as a routine issue. The OIG did not concur. Following the OIG’s elevation, the Centralized Screening Team conducted a clarification interview, and subsequently, opened a new grievance log to address 15 claims they previously failed to identify. Page 2 of 8 10111 Old Placerville Road, Suite 110, Sacramento, California 95827 5 Telephone: (916) 288-4233 5 www.oig.ca.gov Amarik K. Singh OIG OFFICE of the Inspector General INSPECTOR GENERAL Neil Robertson Chief Deputy Inspector General January 2024 Centralized Screening Monitoring Team Case Blocks Independent Published in March 2024 Prison Oversight Case Rating Overall, the department performed poorly. The Centralized Screening Team initially failed to adequately review the complaint and only identified a single routine claim contesting a power outage from an 18-page complaint. Following the OIG’s elevation, the Centralized Screening Team conducted a clarification interview and opened a new grievance log to address 15 claims they previously failed to identify, 13 of which the Centralized Screening Team referred to the Office of Internal Affairs’ Allegation Investigation Unit for an investigation, including but not limited to use of force, sexual harassment, and dishonesty. The Centralized Screening Team routed the remaining two new claims back to the prison as routine issues. OIG Case Number Rating Assessment 23-0069768-CSMT Poor Incident Summary On November 7, 2023, officers allegedly conducted a cell extraction and battered an incarcerated person after he asked about an issue with his property. The incarcerated person alleged officers failed to assist him with his property issues because he previously threw bodily fluids on another staff member. Medical staff allegedly failed to report staff misconduct, assisted officers in tampering with reports and medical evaluation forms, and failed to report their roles in use-of-force incidents. Disposition The Centralized Screening Team referred the use-of-force claim to the Office of Internal Affairs’ Allegation Investigation Unit for investigation. The Centralized Screening Team routed the officers’ failure to assist with property issues to the hiring authority for a local inquiry. While the OIG concurred, the Centralized Screening Team failed to acknowledge the allegations against medical staff. Following two elevations by the OIG, the Centralized Screening Team referred the allegations against medical staff to the Office of Internal Affairs’ Allegation Investigation Unit. Case Rating Overall, the department performed poorly. The Centralized Screening Team initially failed to identify allegations that medical staff allegedly failed to report staff misconduct, assisted officers in tampering with reports and medical evaluation forms, and failed to report their roles in use-of-force incidents. Following the OIG’s elevation, the Centralized Screening Team determined the allegations against medical staff to be unclear and recommended a routine fact finding. Following the OIG’s second elevation, the Centralized Screening Team’s management elected to refer the allegation against medical staff to the Office of Internal Affairs’ Allegation Investigation Unit for investigation. Page 3 of 8 10111 Old Placerville Road, Suite 110, Sacramento, California 95827 5 Telephone: (916) 288-4233 5 www.oig.ca.gov Amarik K. Singh OIG OFFICE of the Inspector General INSPECTOR GENERAL Neil Robertson Chief Deputy Inspector General January 2024 Centralized Screening Monitoring Team Case Blocks Independent Published in March 2024 Prison Oversight OIG Case Number Rating Assessment 23-0069880-CSMT Poor Incident Summary On December 11, 2023, an officer allegedly discriminated against an incarcerated person by refusing to allow him through the gate to attend a medical appointment. Immediately prior to the incarcerated person approaching the gate, the officer allowed two other incarcerated persons of a different race through the gate. During a clarification interview, the incarcerated person alleged the officer provided no reason for not allowing him through the gate for his medical appointment. The incarcerated person further alleged medical staff fabricated a refusal document when he did not refuse to attend the appointment but was prevented from doing so. Disposition The Centralized Screening Team routed the allegation against the officer back to the prison as a routine issue. The OIG did not concur and elevated the decision back to the Centralized Screening Team for reconsideration of racial discrimination and preventing access to medical care. The Centralized Screening Team elected to conduct a clarification interview and then determined the incarcerated person did not provide sufficient information to support allegations of racial discrimination but referred the allegation as staff misconduct to the hiring authority for a local inquiry. The Centralized Screening Team also referred the allegation that medical staff fabricated a refusal document to the hiring authority for local inquiry. The OIG disagreed with the Centralized Screening Team’s decision to not refer the allegation of racial discrimination to the Office of Internal Affairs’ Allegation Investigation Unit for investigation. Case Rating Overall, the department performed poorly. Initially, the Centralized Screening Team failed to properly identify allegations that an officer racially discriminated against an incarcerated person and denied him access to medical care as staff misconduct. Following an elevation by the OIG, the Centralized Screening Team conducted a clarification interview. Subsequently, the Centralized Screening Team determined the incarcerated person made an allegation that the officer inappropriately denied him access through the gate but did not provide sufficient information to support allegations of racial discrimination because he reported the officer made no verbal comments substantiating racial discrimination. In reaching this conclusion, the Centralized Screening Team dismissed the officer’s actions – allowing incarcerated people of one race, but not another, through the gate for their respective appointments – to be racial discrimination. The Centralized Screening Team referred the allegation related to access to the medical appointment to the hiring authority for local inquiry, when the allegation should have been routed to the Office of Internal Affairs’ Allegation Investigation Unit because the incarcerated person made an allegation that the officer denied him access through the gate because of racial discrimination. Page 4 of 8 10111 Old Placerville Road, Suite 110, Sacramento, California 95827 5 Telephone: (916) 288-4233 5 www.oig.ca.gov Amarik K. Singh OIG OFFICE of the Inspector General INSPECTOR GENERAL Neil Robertson Chief Deputy Inspector General January 2024 Centralized Screening Monitoring Team Case Blocks Independent Published in March 2024 Prison Oversight OIG Case Number Rating Assessment 23-0070371-CSMT Poor Incident Summary On December 3, 2023, an officer allegedly called an incarcerated person stupid and refused to allow him to wear shorts during visiting, as approved following a leg surgery in retaliation for the incarcerated person filing complaints against the officer. Disposition The Centralized Screening Team initially referred the allegation against the officer to the hiring authority for a local inquiry. The OIG did not concur. Following the OIG’s elevation, Centralized Screening Team amended their decision and referred the allegation to the Office of Internal Affairs’ Allegation Investigation Unit for an investigation. Case Rating Overall, the department performed poorly. Initially, the Centralized Screening Team identified the allegation as unprofessionalism and routed the allegation to the hiring authority for a local inquiry. The Centralized Screening Team failed to identify the allegation of retaliation for filing staff complaints. The OIG elevated the Centralized Screening Team decision. The Centralized Screening Team referred the allegations to the Office of Internal Affairs’ Allegation Investigation Unit but categorized them as substandard performance. The OIG did not concur because the Centralized Screening Team should have categorized the allegations as retaliation for filing staff complaints. OIG Case Number Rating Assessment 24-0070935-CSMT / 24-0071227-CSMT Poor Incident Summary On December 24, 2023, an officer allegedly racially discriminated against an incarcerated person by terminating his visit because the incarcerated person touched his visitor inappropriately when the same officer allegedly gave other incarcerated persons of other races warnings rather than terminating their visits. When the incarcerated person tried to leave, as ordered, the same officer allegedly jumped on his back and other officers tackled the incarcerated person, slammed his face into the floor, twisted his arms, and kneed him in the back. The officers allegedly pulled the incarcerated person to his feet, pushed him, causing him to stumble, and then tackled him again. Hours later, another officer allegedly deployed pepper spray onto the incarcerated person without cause, and additional officers allegedly failed to provide the incarcerated person a decontamination shower. After the incarcerated person reported feeling suicidal, officers allegedly turned off their body-worn cameras, gave Page 5 of 8 10111 Old Placerville Road, Suite 110, Sacramento, California 95827 5 Telephone: (916) 288-4233 5 www.oig.ca.gov Amarik K. Singh OIG OFFICE of the Inspector General INSPECTOR GENERAL Neil Robertson Chief Deputy Inspector General January 2024 Centralized Screening Monitoring Team Case Blocks Independent Published in March 2024 Prison Oversight the incarcerated person items of clothing to hang himself with, and encouraged the incarcerated person while he attempted to hang himself twice. Disposition The Centralized Screening Team referred the allegations of excessive force, giving the incarcerated person materials to hang himself, and encouraging him to do so to the Office of Internal Affairs’ Allegation Investigation Unit after reassignment. The OIG concurred. However, the Centralized Screening Team failed to identify the alleged racism by terminating his visit. Following the OIG’s elevation, the Centralized Screening Team added a referral for dishonesty regarding the body-worn cameras, but they did not refer the allegation of racism. Instead, the Centralized Screening Team added a routine rules violation report dispute related to the termination of the visit. Case Rating Overall, the department performed poorly. The Centralized Screening Team did not refer an allegation of dishonesty of officers failing to comply with body-worn camera requirements to the Office of Internal Affairs’ Allegation Investigation Unit and failed to identify allegations of racial discrimination and a visiting issue that resulted in a rules violation report. Following the OIG’s elevation, the Centralized Screening Team agreed to add the dishonesty claim as part of the referral to the Office of Internal Affairs’ Allegation Investigation Unit and add a routine rules violation report dispute rather than a visiting claim. The Centralized Screening Team discounted the allegation of racism, citing evidence the officer had issued a warning to the incarcerated person and his visitor. However, the Centralized Screening Team should not have weighed evidence as part of the screening process. OIG Case Number Rating Assessment 24-0071008-CSMT Poor Incident Summary On July 21, 2023, a laundry employee allegedly discriminated against an incarcerated person of a certain race, stating she did not like people of that race, and giving him used and old laundry items. On December 20, 2023, officers allegedly ignored the incarcerated person’s request for complaint forms, request forms, and envelopes. Officers also allegedly brought mobile phones and drugs into the prison, provided information to other incarcerated people about the incarcerated person’s case factors, retaliated against the incarcerated person by allowing other incarcerated persons to bully everyone, allowed the incarcerated population to have sexual intercourse in the showers and cells, allowed members of security groups to do whatever they wanted, and purposely moved incarcerated people around. A chaplain allegedly failed to respond to the incarcerated person’s request for kosher meals. Staff allegedly Page 6 of 8 10111 Old Placerville Road, Suite 110, Sacramento, California 95827 5 Telephone: (916) 288-4233 5 www.oig.ca.gov Amarik K. Singh OIG OFFICE of the Inspector General INSPECTOR GENERAL Neil Robertson Chief Deputy Inspector General January 2024 Centralized Screening Monitoring Team Case Blocks Independent Published in March 2024 Prison Oversight underfed the incarcerated population and only allowed incarcerated people of a certain race underpaid job assignments. A high-ranking prison official and officers allegedly denied the incarcerated person’s access to religious services on Fridays. Disposition The Centralized Screening Team routed nine allegations back to the prison as routine issues, four of which the Office of Grievances subsequently rejected because the grievance was done on behalf of another person. The OIG concurred with those decisions. However, the Centralized Screening Team failed to identify the allegation of racial discrimination by a laundry employee. Following the OIG’s elevation, the Centralized Screening Team added and referred the allegation of racial discrimination to the Office of Internal Affairs’ Allegation Investigation Unit for an investigation. Case Rating Overall, the department performed poorly. The Centralized Screening Team appropriately completed a clarification interview into vague allegations in the incarcerated person’s written complaint. In response to the interviewer’s question as to how staff discriminated against the incarcerated person, he alleged a laundry employee told him to wash his own linens, gave him old items when everyone else received new items, and made racial comments, including that she did not like people of a certain race. However, the Centralized Screening Team failed to identify the allegation against the laundry employee. Following the OIG’s elevation, the Centralized Screening Team appropriately added and referred the allegation of racial discrimination to the Officer of Internal Affairs’ Allegation Investigation Unit. OIG Case Number Rating Assessment 24-0071214-CSMT Poor Incident Summary Between July 22, 2023, and December 30, 2023, nursing staff allegedly failed to properly clean a mobility-impaired incarcerated person, forced food into his mouth, causing him to choke, and bent his neck uncomfortably during feedings. In addition, nursing staff allegedly denied the incarcerated person water and lunches, failed to turn him pursuant to physician’s orders, leaving him lying in the same, uncomfortable positions for 10 to 15 hours, failed to respond to his call button requests for assistance, and denied his requests for a Spanish interpreter. Disposition The Centralized Screening Team initially referred the allegations against nursing staff as a single departure from the standard of care to the hiring authority for a local inquiry. The OIG did not concur, as the allegations included use-of-force and medical Page 7 of 8 10111 Old Placerville Road, Suite 110, Sacramento, California 95827 5 Telephone: (916) 288-4233 5 www.oig.ca.gov Amarik K. Singh OIG OFFICE of the Inspector General INSPECTOR GENERAL Neil Robertson Chief Deputy Inspector General January 2024 Centralized Screening Monitoring Team Case Blocks Independent Published in March 2024 Prison Oversight neglect rising to the level of endangering the life of the incarcerated person and misconduct resulting in serious harm to the incarcerated person. Following the OIG’s elevation, the Centralized Screening Team referred the complaint, in its entirety, to the Office of Internal Affairs’ Allegation Investigation Unit for an investigation. Case Rating Overall, the department performed poorly. Initially, the Centralized Screening Team identified the allegations that medical staff failed to clean the mobility-impaired incarcerated person properly, forced food into his mouth, failed to turn him as required, refused him access to a Spanish interpreter, and failed to feed him lunch as a lesser degree of staff misconduct warranting only a local inquiry. The Centralized Screening Team failed to consider forcing food into the incarcerated person’s mouth to be a use-of-force allegation, failed to consider the allegations to be medical neglect endangering the life of the incarcerated person, and completely failed to identify allegations that medical staff did not provide water to the incarcerated person, routinely bent his neck into uncomfortable positions, and failed to answer his call button to provide assistance. Following the OIG’s elevation, the Centralized Screening Team added the previously missed allegations within the complaint and agreed the allegations met multiple categories of staff misconduct on the Allegation Decision Index, warranting a referral to the Office of Internal Affairs’ Allegation Investigation Unit. Page 8 of 8 10111 Old Placerville Road, Suite 110, Sacramento, California 95827 5 Telephone: (916) 288-4233 5 www.oig.ca.gov