15 million more reasons to fault oversight of county jails

In November 2019 — less than two months after a lengthy investigation by The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Watchdog team showed county jails run by the Sheriff’s Department had done an atrocious job in keeping inmates alive under longtime Sheriff Bill Gore — perhaps the most egregious death in local jail history occurred. Elisa Serna, a 24-year-old pregnant woman, died in the Las Colinas jail “after a sheriff’s deputy and medical worker watched her collapse in her cell and left her alone to die,” as stalwart Watchdog reporter Jeff McDonald wrote July 1.

His article dealt with the county’s decision to settle a lawsuit filed by Serna’s family for $15 million and to meet conditions the family demanded: new training for deputies and jail medical staff; better policies on regularly checking the vital signs of inmates under medical observation; and the requirement that current Sheriff Kelly Martinez meet with Elisa’s parents, Michael and Paloma Serna. The federal judge who oversaw the case is allowed to review whether the department is complying with the agreement for a year.

Yet despite the county having paid out more than $75 million in taxpayer dollars in such settlements in recent years, the Sheriff’s Department continues to reject basic reforms meant to make its jails safer. One obvious example: Martinez dismisses calls from the state auditor, the county grand jury and the Citizens’ Law Enforcement Review Board to body scan deputies for drugs and other contraband when they enter jail facilities.

Yes, Martinez inherited a mess when she took over in January 2023. But she has not been the eager reformer she promised to be. The county supervisors who control her department’s budget must use it as a cudgel to force change in our broken jails.