This testimony was a declaration from the May 7, 2020 filing of a new class action lawsuit over jail conditions related to COVID-19 on behalf of prisoners at Santa Rita Jail against the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.
I am currently an inmate in Santa Rita Jail, the County Jail for Alameda County. I had returned to Santa Rita in June 2019 for review of my case and re-sentencing pursuant to SB 1437. During this period, I was assigned to Housing Unit 7.
Around the end of March and the first of April, seven inmates in my housing unit started having corona virus symptoms. They were shivering and had headaches; they were sweating and coughing. I told the housing unit deputy that these men should be tested for the coronavirus, but as far as I know, they were not moved and there was no quarantine. Instead, the deputy and the nurse told them to “fill out a medical slip” and they were not tested.
Three days later, on Sunday, April 4, 2020, I started having the same symptoms: shivering, headaches, coughing, and sweating. I reported these symptoms, and the nurse came and took my temperature. My temperature was “high,” but they did not tell me the exact temperature. All the nurse said to me was, “Drink water.” The jail staff left me in the Housing Unit 7 all day, and I did not receive any further medical attention. Later on, at about one in the morning, the deputy came and woke me up, and told me that they were going to move me.
They moved me to Housing Unit 8A. The cell they moved me into was filthy. I could smell the bleach, but what they had done was simply sprayed bleach all over the cell, but did not wipe anything down. The dirt was still on every surface. There was feces on the floor. They did not give me any towels or paper towels to wipe off the cell. Instead, they just handed me a new bedroll and locked me in.
The next day, Monday April 6, 2020, they gave me a nasal swab to test me for corona. I was extremely upset because I was not given any information. I thought I was going to die. The jail did not give me any medication. The cell was cold, and all I had was a thin blanket. I was running a fever and shivering. I asked the deputy for an extra blanket, and the response was, “you got your issue.” The issue was one thin blanket, and a thin mattress. The bed was a cold concrete slab. During this time, no one — not a nurse, not a doctor — offered me anything to make me more comfortable. I was cold, running a fever, shivering, and having a hard time breathing, and thinking I was going to die. This was torture. During this entire time, no nurse or doctor explained to me what was happening, and what would happen with the corona virus.
On April 21, 2020, I was still in the hole. I had not seen medical people or received medical attention since being placed here. I was having a hard time breathing. I had bad diarrhea, I had a shooting headache. I still had a bad cough. I had shivers and chills. One night, I had such trouble breathing I had a panic attack. I’m breathing but it did not feel like air was going on. And I can’t submit a medical request slip, I have no way of submitting a medical slip.
In the housing unit, the shower was absolutely filthy. There were swarms of flying black bugs that would bite if you took your clothes off. Therefore, for two weeks, I did not shower.
On April 14, 2020, the female doctor told me that I could not leave that cell yet because I was having so much trouble breathing. During this time, she never listened to my lungs, I never had a chest xray. The medical treatment was the doctor was in a white head to toe white space suit, and I had to stick my hand out of the slot that they shove the food through.
On April 15, 2020, I was still having trouble breathing, it was hard to breathe, and it hurt to breathe. The doctor came, and announced that I had no temperature, and said, “You’re better. You’ll breathe better in another building.” I understood that I was cleared to return to general population. Two hours later, the deputy came and told me to put my stuff in a plastic bag.
First, the deputy walked me over to Housing Unit 23, where he told me that I would be housed there for five days so they could continue to assess my condition. Once we reached Housing Unit 23, they set me outside in the concrete yard for a couple of hours. Apparently, Housing Unit 23 was not the plan. The deputy then announced that I would be placed in Housing Unit 6. When we reached Housing Unit 6, they placed us in another outdoor concrete yard, where we sat for another two hours. When the deputy came back, and it was clear that the jail had no plan for me, I explained that I still have symptoms, that I had tested positive, that I was still coughing and having trouble breathing, and that placing me with other inmates was potentially jeopardizing other people. I said I did not think that was fair to endanger others.
The deputy decided I had to be punished for this, and put me in the “hole.” I am now locked up for 48 hours in a row. I have only gotten one hour of pod time every 48 hours. I have received nothing in writing explaining why I am being punished. I have received no disciplinary hearing. No one will tell me why I am here or how long I will be here. I am not getting medical treatment although my symptoms have not changed. I am still coughing and having trouble breathing.
On April 21, 2020, I was still in the hole. I had not seen medical people or received medical attention since being placed here. I was having a hard time breathing. I had bad diarrhea, I had a shooting headache. I still had a bad cough. I had shivers and chills. One night, I had such trouble breathing I had a panic attack. I’m breathing but it did not feel like air was going on. And I can’t submit a medical request slip, I have no way of submitting a medical slip.
On April 27th or 28th, the jail moved me to the medical housing, the OPHU. My head felt like there were lightning strikes in my head. I had no energy and was very tired. But when lying down, I couldn’t breathe. I had terrible diarrhea, and the food is terrible. For dinner one night, I was given watery macaroni with some hard white beans, 2 spoonfuls of carrots, a biscuit and cake. The lettuce was wilted and had gone bad.