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 an inmate at the Santa Rita Jail in Alameda County and I am currently housed in Housing Unit (HU) 7D, Cell 9. On Sunday April 5, 2020, between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., Santa Rita Jail staff took me from Housing Unit (HU) 7E Pod — where I had been housed — to Outpatient Housing Unit “OPHU” (Cell #8), saying I was exposed to COVID-19. I had no symptoms and no temperature. When I was told to leave HU7, I asked what I should bring. Deputy Roberts told me I would not need much — maybe just some snacks from my canteen. So, I brought a couple of soups and meat logs to OPHU and nothing else.
The room in OPHU to which I was taken on April 5, Cell 8, was labelled “Negative Air Room” on the front door and was freezing and filthy inside — it appeared that dried spit, dried food, and dried mucus were all on the walls. This room had a toilet and sink, but the sink did not work. I had no water to drink. The mattress was on the floor. I had one blanket and one sheet (one bed roll), and no other bedding. I did not receive new clothes or underclothes. Later on the morning of April 5th, around 9 or 10 a.m., a nurse came to test me for COVID-19 by swabbing my nose. At this time, I asked if I could contact my mother or my lawyer, but I was denied. I also asked if I could have a shower, but was denied this request as well.
On Monday, April 6, 2020, my temperature was taken by the nurse and my results were normal. I still did not have any symptoms at this point. I asked again if I could call my mother or lawyer and if I could take a shower but was again told I could not do any of these things. I explained to a deputy what the conditions were in my room (no running water in the sink, filthy, etc.) and the deputy said there was nothing they could do except bring me water when I needed it. I then told the deputy that I am on a special cardiac diet (for high blood pressure) and asked if I could continue to receive that diet in OPHU, but the deputy said no. Later on the night of April 6, a different person came around to check my vitals and everything was still normal. I asked the deputy if I could contact my family or lawyer and take a shower, and again I was denied all of those things.
I asked again if I could call my mother or lawyer and if I could take a shower but was again told I could not do any of these things. I explained to a deputy what the conditions were in my room (no running water in the sink, filthy, etc.) and the deputy said there was nothing they could do except bring me water when I needed it. I then told the deputy that I am on a special cardiac diet (for high blood pressure) and asked if I could continue to receive that diet in OPHU, but the deputy said no.
On Tuesday April 7, 2020, the same routine happened as on April 6. I was still denied the phone calls and the showers. Since I had no soap, I could not even take a “bird bath.”
On Wednesday morning April 8, 2020, I finally received the correct cardiac diet tray. The nurse came around in the morning to check my vitals, which were still normal. The deputy again said no to a phone call and shower. On the afternoon of April 7, the nurse told me that I tested positive for COVID-19, and that they were going to move me to HU8 with all the other inmates who had tested positive. I inquired why I was being sent to HU8 with all the other inmates who tested positive instead of staying in isolation in the OPHU room, but the nurse just said “it’s protocol.” At this point, I started crying because I was scared I was being sent into HU8 to die. I was afraid I wouldn’t get the chance to talk to my mom before I died. I received no reassuring information.
At around 7 p.m. on the evening of April 8, 2020, I was moved from OPHU to HU8C pod. Staff instructed me not to bring anything during this move. When I arrived at HU8, I was placed in Cell 11 on the upper tier, even though I am always supposed to be on the lower tier because I have seizures. I was allowed to use the phone, but not allowed to shower, when I arrived at HU8. While I was using the phone, staff sprayed bleach all over my cell, so when I returned to my cell in HU8, the bleach was dripping everywhere and I had to wipe it all up using the only roll of tissue I had in the cell. That night, I also asked for extra blankets upon my arrival at HU8, but I was told I could only receive the single bed roll.
I inquired why I was being sent to HU8 with all the other inmates who tested positive instead of staying in isolation in the OPHU room, but the nurse just said “it’s protocol.” At this point, I started crying because I was scared I was being sent into HU8 to die. I was afraid I wouldn’t get the chance to talk to my mom before I died. I received no reassuring information.
On Thursday, April 9, 2020, the nurse came by to check my vitals twice. Each time, I asked the deputy accompanying the nurse if I could shower. In the morning, I was simply told “no”, but at night, the deputy gave me more information — that I wouldn’t get a shower until it was my turn to come out. He told me that staff were only letting out inmates for an hour at a time, and I had to wait until my cell was called. The deputy didn’t know when it would be my turn. I noted that all the deputies were wearing “Haz Mat” suits and had their faces protected in HU8, but none of the nurses wore these. In fact, only a couple nurses wore masks.
On Friday morning, April 10, 2020, the nurse came to check my vitals again and everything was normal. I asked the deputy for a shower again, and the deputy told me he would check when it would be my turn. Between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. that night, the nurse checked me again and everything was still normal. Still, I was not experiencing any symptoms. I asked the deputy about a shower again, and the deputy again told me he would check on it. At this point, I also started to develop a dry rash on my inner left foot and between my toes — I thought maybe it developed because I had very dry skin and hadn’t showered in a while.
Finally, around 9 p.m. on April 10, 2020, I was allowed to use the shower and phone. I asked for soap and a change of underclothes, but these requests were denied. The deputy told me that I should have had soap from the Housing Unit I came from, but again, Deputy Roberts had told me that I should only take a couple snacks when I left HU7E. Deputy Roberts had told me that I would return to HU7E soon. When I went to take my shower in HU8, there were hundreds of bugs all over the shower and dirt on the walls. I checked the bottom tier showers, but those showers looked the same. I asked the deputy if I could clean the shower, but the deputy told me he would call someone to clean the shower. Still, no one came to clean it. Therefore, I didn’t take a shower and only used the phone.
When I went to take my shower in HU8, there were hundreds of bugs all over the shower and dirt on the walls. I checked the bottom tier showers, but those showers looked the same. I asked the deputy if I could clean the shower, but the deputy told me he would call someone to clean the shower. Still, no one came to clean it. Therefore, I didn’t take a shower and only used the phone.
I noted that during my time in HU8, people were screaming and banging on the doors all day — they were basically on lock down in there and lots of people seemed to be losing their minds. The inmate next door to me didn’t have symptoms either — a lot of people didn’t have symptoms. The only “pod time” we had was this 1 hour to use the phone and shower, which only happened every two to three days for each inmate. This is because there were about 18 cells in HU8, and they let about three people out during the day and three at night. We finally received tablets on April 11, 2020, but most tablets did not work in HU8 because of poor reception. We had no access to movies or music or books — we could mostly only make calls and play solitaire on the tablets. There was a news app on the tablets we could click on, but that app was not updated for a couple of days in a row. I also wasn’t able to see the TV from my cell. My cell had a toilet and sink that worked. However, during my entire time in HU8, I never received cleaning supplies or a mask. I was still using the mask that I brought from HU7.
On Saturday April 11, 2020, I went through a similar routine, and my vitals were still normal when the nurse came to check in the morning. I asked the deputy if I could have a shower and a change of underclothes, but the deputy just gave me soap and said the best I could do was to take a “bird bath” and wash my is underclothes using this soap and the sink as well. I also told the nurse about my foot and toe rashes that morning, but the nurse told me that she couldn’t help since the rash had nothing to do with COVID-19 — she was only in charge of taking vitals and caring for COVID-related symptoms. That night, between 6:30 and 7 p.m., my vitals were again checked and were still normal. I again asked the deputy for a shower and told the deputy about the dirty shower situation, but the deputy again just told me I would have to wait again for my shower time. After that, I finally gave up on the idea of a shower, so I took a “bird bath” and washed my underwear with the bar of soap that the deputy gave me. Later that night, when I received my seizure meds, I asked the nurse about the rash again, but the nurse just walked away and the deputy slid the door slider in my face.
On April 12, 2020, the same routine occurred in the morning and at night — I still had no symptoms (other than possibly my toes) and my vitals were normal. I didn’t ask about the rash on my toes anymore because I knew I wouldn’t receive help for it. On April 13 and 14, 2020, everything was normal again in the morning and evening.
I again asked the deputy for a shower and told the deputy about the dirty shower situation, but the deputy again just told me I would have to wait again for my shower time. After that, I finally gave up on the idea of a shower, so I took a “bird bath” and washed my underwear with the bar of soap that the deputy gave me. Later that night, when I received my seizure meds, I asked the nurse about the rash again, but the nurse just walked away and the deputy slid the door slider in my face.
On April 15, 2020, at 9:30am, the doctor came by to tell me that I would be finished quarantining that day. However, no one tested me to confirm I was no longer was carrying the virus. Around 11 a.m. or noon, staff let me out to shower, but the showers were still filthy — I considered them unusable. At this point, I had not showered since April 4, 2020. I also still had the same clothes and same underwear I had been wearing for over 10 days.
The nurse told me and the other inmates who were being released from HU8 quarantine that we would go to HU23 for an additional five days to finish quarantining before going back to general population. So, deputies then took all of this group of inmates of which I was a part to HU23, but when the group arrived, HU23 deputies turned us away, saying they were not taking any COVID-19 positive inmates. So, staff then took me and these other inmates to HU6, where the inmates were instructed to wait in the yard.
While waiting there, some pod workers from HU6 came to the door and told me and the rest of this group that if we were transferred to HU6, these pod workers would beat up the group because no one in HU6 wanted the virus. When the deputies returned, I asked if I could be moved back to HU7, but the deputies told me that HU7 was still under quarantine, so they were going to move me to HU6D. I told the deputies that I feared for my safety if the deputies were going to move me to HU6 (because of the pod workers’ threat). The deputies sent me to the hole, claiming that I was “refusing to lock down”, although all I did was request not to be placed in HU6 where I feared I would be assaulted.
Therefore, on April 15, 2020, I was sent to the hole where I stayed until the morning of April 20, 2020. I finally got a change of clothes (they changed me from yellows to reds) and I was finally able to take a shower on April 17, 2020. I was able to use a tablet in the hole, but I still only was let out for an hour every other day. On April 17, 2020, I told Classification what really happened on the 15th — that I was not refusing to lock down. So, on the 20th, they sent me back to HU7, but this time was placed in D pod (instead of my original E pod) because D pod had just come out of quarantine. I was placed in a cell by myself.
While waiting there, some pod workers from HU6 came to the door and told me and the rest of this group that if we were transferred to HU6, these pod workers would beat up the group because no one in HU6 wanted the virus….I told the deputies that I feared for my safety if the deputies were going to move me to HU6 (because of the pod workers’ threat). The deputies sent me to the hole, claiming that I was “refusing to lock down”, although all I did was request not to be placed in HU6 where I feared I would be assaulted.
When I returned to HU7, I asked a deputy for my original canteen that I left behind in E pod. However, the deputy said he didn’t know where my canteen was — another inmate must have taken it. I lost about $50 worth of canteen.
I have been in SRJ since October 3, 2019, and I never received cleaning supplies until the last two weeks of March 2020. Now that I am in HU7D, we receive cleaning supplies Wednesday through Saturday. Cleaning supplies are supposed to be handed out before pod time, around 7 a.m., but they are now handed out around 8 a.m. so it cuts into pod time. I am also frustrated that pod time has been cut in half due to split tier pod time (inmates now receive two hours during the day and night as opposed to the full four hours every day and night).
In terms of cleaning supplies, in 7D, I now receive a broom, a dustpan, a toilet brush, and a bottle of disinfectant. I receive no rags. The pod workers sometimes sneak some extra towels to me, and that is the only way I am able to properly clean. However, the disinfectant we receive is very watered down. The pod workers receive a dark green disinfectant to clean with, but the cell cleaning disinfectant is a very faint green. All 18 cells in the pod use the same cleaning supplies. Therefore, since I am in Cell 9, Cells 1-8 have already used the supplies when my turn comes, without the supplies being cleaned. When the mop comes (once a week), the water is very dark by the time it gets to my cell. This has deterred me from ever using the mop. Instead I spray the disinfectant on the floor and use rags (when I have them) to clean the floor. No one comes around to spray bleach in my cell.
I have been in SRJ since October 3, 2019, and I never received cleaning supplies until the last two weeks of March 2020.
Starting in April, once a week the jail passes out a bar of blue soap once a week. The blue bar is of insufficient size for a week of use if I wash my hands on a regular basis and shower every day or every other day. So, I usually use my own soap that I get from the commissary. More recently, the soap SRJ hands out is a very small piece of “Bob Barker” brand white soap. I estimate that this bar would last someone about 2.5 days.
I am concerned that SRJ is not testing as much as they should be. I think a lot of people (like me) don’t have symptoms but actually have the virus. The only reason I was tested is because my cellmate, Charles Jackson, left to be treated for COVID-19 on April 1, 2020.