They never offered me a mask until I went in front of the video judge. They put a mask on me…for appearance. When I came before authority, they put a mask on me. But the whole time I was there, they never offered me a mask. When I came in, what they fed me, I started convulsing, violently. They never fed me no real meat. They took me to Highland Hospital. They were feeding me potatoes, beans, and rice.
I had a blockage, I didn’t use the bathroom for 3 days. They were supposed to send me back to Highland. They never did. They were giving me laxatives, trying to get me to defecate. I finally went, but I was so backed up that I was at Highland and they were about to do surgery on me. This happened! They were trying to do surgery on me but I said I did not want to have surgery done where I would have to come back and me incarcerated. I said I would rather come back and have it done from the outside and have that done if I needed that. I called my son, he’s Dr. Duran Aldredge, and asked him for advice. He said that he didn’t think that I needed that but to do what the doctor says.
When they finally brought me back here, they took me to the medical unit because I had to be screened before they let me back into the actual prison. They laid me on the floor, no mask, they never allowed me to wash or anything. He [the nurse] had a mask on, but when they put me in the room on the medical side they had me on the floor. Not on the regular mats or bedding, it was this wooden, gray, plastic bin like thing that sits on the floor, that has a cot in it. They never told me how to use it or what it was. I ended up turning it over, because it’s hallowed out like a tray, and I put the mattress on top of it. Then they gave me some blankets and stuff.
When they finally brought me back here, they took me to the medical unit because I had to be screened before they let me back into the actual prison. They laid me on the floor, no mask, they never allowed me to wash or anything. He [the nurse] had a mask on, but when they put me in the room on the medical side they had me on the floor.
They never gave me anything to wash my hands. They did let me to take a shower, that was the first time, the only time they let me take a shower. I was here from Wednesday night, and I left Friday morning. That’s when I started throwing up and convulsing, so that’s when I went to Highland. I got back Sunday evening [to the jail]. That’s where they took me to the medical unit. I went to the medical unit from Sunday evening to Tuesday morning, when they put me back in the unit. But I was on the floor that whole time with no mask.
As far as advocating for me, no one ever advocated for me [in regards to masks/in general]. In the medical unit, I thought the prisoners got loose for a second. They were running around, all night. In the morning, the guard came to the door, and he said I had a [inaudible] plate (of food), and I said I want a regular plate. He just took the plate and threw it to the side, and left. Never fed me. I don’t know what’s going on right now, maybe it’s this corona environment, but they’re really acting like they don’t have a clue what’s going on.
The guards were wearing masks. For their safety! The only time they offered me a mask was during transport. Like when you’re going from being received here, and then going down that corridor. You have to have a mask. They didn’t let you wash your hands. And then you strip, they take your clothing, and they give you the prison garb. At that point, no mask. Then you’re sitting in the cell and waiting. We were spaced out in the holding cell.
They may be taking people in, because at one time there would be more people coming in. I didn’t see many people coming in. Me and him were the only ones coming out of jail tonight. That’s trickling. Usually it’s 10-15 people coming out, at a time. Ain’t nobody in there. They have this thing, they secure you off in another area for a minute before you’re in general population [quarantine]. They have a quarantine to come in, a 14 day quarantine.
When you actually go in, when they’re taking you to your section, when you go down the corridor, they have 22 east and 22 west and it’s quarantine. Whoever comes in is going to be in there for 14 days. It’s sparse. It’s not a dorm setting, it’s rooms. They have rooms with like 18 beds stacked but it’s not like that. I was in 9, so it’s probably like 18-20 rooms, 2 man dorms that they have. When I came Wednesday, there was somebody already in there. But when I got back, it was just me. So they’re releasing them into population. I think a lot of people aren’t making it in (to population), because they’re making bail available. They’re making other ways around housing you here available, they’re back-dooring you.
Before Wednesday, one of the officers was saying they had something happening, it’s like they were releasing everybody. They were OR’ing everybody. So you go in, they ask if you have a job or are you taking care of an elderly person? Those two questions was the basis on whether they could let you come to court from the outside.
The pain is not being in prison. The pain is being restricted and taken of something from you. Your right to move and breath, and just be. That’s the hurtful part. Not that you’re in prison, you can still read books. I’ve been in way more restricted areas and still be freer. I had way less and felt way richer. There’s food in there, bedding. It’s the loss of liberty. People not giving a fuck. Turning you into a job. I don’t wanna be nobody’s job.
The pain is not being in prison. The pain is being restricted and taken of something from you. Your right to move and breath, and just be. That’s the hurtful part. Not that you’re in prison, you can still read books. I’ve been in way more restricted areas and still be freer. I had way less and felt way richer. There’s food in there, bedding. It’s the loss of liberty. People not giving a fuck. Turning you into a job. I don’t wanna be nobody’s job.
In pod time, they let one person out at a time, you can go get spray and you can go back and clean your cell and stuff. But that’s not saying that when the person left before me, that it was clean when I went in there. No, it was not.
And my defense, what they tried to get me released on/OR, my attorney said “As you can see, Mr. Aldredge is black, and of course they get COVID more than any other group”. I was appalled by this, is that your fucking defense to get me OR’d? That I’m black? That’s what my public defender said, on the video conferencing. That’s what he led with! The judge is on there, the district attorney, and some other entities, because there was about four pictures at the bottom, and this is what he led with. “Of course you can see Mr. Aldredge is black, and they have the largest population or prone to catch corona more than anybody else”.
I was too stunned. I said I wanted to say something, I wanted to tell them my experience. I just got out the hospital for one, they wanted to do surgery on me that I refused to have done. This year was a struggle for me. This is not who I am. I work in the community, I advocate for other people! I worked as a housing advocate for the last 5 years, I had a medical condition for the reason I wasn’t working for the East Oakland Community Project anymore. Hard time fell on me. But good things happen to bad people, bad things happen to good people too.
So I said I wanted to talk, but he said “no, I don’t think you should talk because you have all these entities” [the sheriff present with him]. But this silly ass stuff that this public defender just said about me. I don’t know nobody with corona. I know more people that died of texting and driving than people that died of corona. You don’t even know me. You never even talked to you. He never talked to me! Never!
I wanted to tell this guy that I just spent the last 3 days in the hospital. They never heard that. I bailed out. Instead of them OR’ing me. The whole time I’m just watching what’s transpiring and just thinking in my mind, I didn’t have a voice until now, this is a mockery. This is a kangaroo court, this is a travesty. Nobody is here advocating for anybody.
The whole time I’m just watching what’s transpiring and just thinking in my mind, I didn’t have a voice until now, this is a mockery. This is a kangaroo court, this is a travesty. Nobody is here advocating for anybody.
I’m not saying this because I feel like I was treated worse than anybody there. I’m saying this because this happened and I was looking through the eyes of other people. Me, imma be alright, but there’s other people in there that really don’t have a voice. There’s people in there that are coming from tent city in Oakland, and they’re already homeless. They’re coming here and they’re treating them even worse. Half of them don’t even understand what their civil liberties are. But I do.
I’m telling the guy, hey I might need another blanket, and he’s asking me “are you kicking?”. I said it’s because I’m cold and he said “are you kicking?”. Kicking what? But he automatically assumes it’s because I’m kicking heroin or something. But the guy don’t know that I’m seeing institutional racism.
There’s no stations in there for people to wash their hands often. They’re not passing out masks in that quarantine area. Nobody in that area had masks, except for the guards. They’re allowing people to go into the shower area, into the main TV area, and they’re keeping people in their cells, but nobody has masks.