It seems that if the deputies are in another pod, where someone may be infected with COVID-19, and they walk into our pod with the same mask and same gloves on, it’s just spreading the virus around. The same problem exists when the deputies search prisoners and search our cells.
The jail didn’t tell me anything, but I knew that everyone in C had tested positive for the corona virus. I am essentially in solitary confinement, with nothing for comfort, and no medical treatment. I have had no shower. I have no soap. I have none of my property. I have not been given any clean clothes. I received nothing for my cough. I received nothing for my body pains.
...I got Tylenol only twice. I was running a high fever, over 100 degrees and I had really bad headaches. I asked them for Tylenol and the nurse said to me, “The doctor said no Tylenol. We want your body to fight it off by itself.” And then the nurse closed the door slot and walked off. I never got any cough drops or anything for my cough. I asked for an extra blanket and the jail refused to give...
On April 15, 2020, at 9:30am, the doctor came by to tell me that I would be finished quarantining that day. ...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.
At 8:52AM on Tuesday morning, during pod time, an individual was speaking to other prisoners about the Sheriff’s proposed budget increase and his opposition to it. ACSO Deputy Perry approached them and said, “Man, cut it out! Why y’all hating on my money?” The deputy then grabbed his nightstick and began swinging it around, instructing the whole pod to “lock the hell down” and telling everyone to...
"This lets you know how the Sheriff thinks about human lives. The Sheriff’s department really doesn’t care about inmates inside, they just care about themselves....Alameda County is funded pretty well. I don’t know where the money is going because it’s like a jungle in here."
"The coronavirus is spreading dramatically fast up in this jail facility. I can't believe that these people are submitting false information to the public. The people housed up in here know the truth of what's really going on, but we get retaliated against by the Sheriff."
...The jail moved me into Housing Unit 8C, which the other inmates tell me is for those inmates who have tested positive. The jail itself has told me nothing. No doctor, no nurse, no deputy has told me what is going on. No doctor, no nurse, no deputy has told me I have tested positive for the Coronavirus. No doctor, no nurse, no deputy has told me what will happen or how long I will stay here.
The cot I was given had black mold on the cot and the mattress was stained and smelled of urine. I asked for something to clean with, and I was not given anything, so I ended up using a menstrual pad to wipe the mattress and the cot.
Before going to court, I was placed in a dirty holding cell that was also holding six to seven other people. I believe I should have been held in a cleaner space either in isolation or in a space more conducive to social distancing guidelines.
Neither the showers nor the day room appeared to have been cleaned–in fact, the showers hadn’t been cleaned in over a week and smelled like urine. There was still blood and various other stains on the day room carpet. I fear that Santa Rita Jail will tell the media that they are following all protocol by hiring this cleaning service, but I believe I could have cleaned the pod much better myself...
I have pressed the emergency button while I have been here, and tried to tell the technician that it was very hard to breathe. And after telling the technician I am having difficulty breathing, no one came with any medication or help for the difficulty I am having with my breathing.
Eric has not seen hand wipes in almost 2 weeks. Yesterday, deputies said they would hand out cleaning supplies but they never did. Eric hasn’t seen cleaning supplies since last Thursday. Inmates mostly have to try and use their own body soap to clean the cell.
When inmates got back to their pod, the floors were still dirty and many inmates felt they had to properly clean when they returned. The day room carpet still had huge patches of blood and appeared just as dirty as when he left.
Lamont has various health issues that put him at high risk for COVID-19....When he went to court on the 6th of April, he was given no mask or gloves and was in the dirty Santa Rita holding cell with 6 to 7 other people.
Neither the day room nor the showers appeared to have been cleaned at all. In fact, he notes that the showers have not been cleaned in about a week. Troy has not seen hand wipes, masks or soap passed out in two weeks (other than what they received for the outdoor showers).
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...
Inmates often use their own body soap to clean the cell due to insufficient cleaning supplies. On April 20, 2020, the only supplies we received were a broom without the handle (just the bristles part) and a toilet brush. When we asked Deputy Whitlock for better supplies and a proper broom, he responded that we could "sweep on our knees" and did not provide us with additional supplies.
After 5 p.m., I was moved back to my original housing unit, 31, which is a dormitory style unit. If in fact, I was exposed to the corona virus in the dress out room, then when I was returned to Housing Unit 31, I was carrying it back and passing it on, potentially to everyone in my dormitory cell.
SRJ hasn’t handed out hand wipes, masks, or soap to his pod in over a week. Inmates have never received gloves. There is only one night deputy that comes around spraying the sink, toilet, and door handles of their cells with bleach, but that deputy had been away (either sick or on vacation) for a while and just came back.