SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Family members rallied for prison reform outside of San Diego County's Central Jail Friday, claiming several men who died in custody were neglected and denied medical attention. This comes amid a rise of in-custody deaths in our community.
Sabrina Weddle's brother, Saxon Rodriguez, died in the Central Jail two years ago. Weddle says it happened just four days after he was arrested.
"The deputies did not check him in a timely manner, which is supposed to be every hour. They checked him at the 65 minute mark," said Weddle. "Unfortunately — he got a hold of fentanyl. And because he was not checked on time, he was not able to be revived."
Weddle says she hasn't gotten any answers about how the drugs got into the jail, which happened at a time when pandemic restrictions didn't allow visitors.
"Every inmate that goes into this jail is scanned by a multi-million dollar scanner, yet the deputies are not scanned," said Weddle. "And I've said it time and time again: My brother's drugs were returned home with me after he passed away. So the drugs he died with weren't his."
Tammy Wilson says her husband, Omar Moreno Arroyo, was arrested in 2021 during a mental health crisis.
"Within 12 hours, he died alone in the holding cell on the jail cell floor due to choking on his cloth face mask that was given to him," said Wilson. "Why was he arrested instead of taken to a hospital?"
According to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department website, there were 19 in-custody deaths in 2022 and two so far this year. A report from the Citizen's Law Enforcement Review Board says out of the state's 12 largest counties, San Diego's jails have the highest number of "unexplained deaths" — often accidents and overdoses.
That means researchers found so many more deaths than expected, based on county mortality rates, it's "highly unlikely to be a matter of random chance."
"We would like the deputies to also be scanned, or for there to be a K-9 present every day," said Weddle.
"I want there to be more mental health nurses, doctors on staff to handle people with a mental health crisis," said Wilson. "They don't deserve to be thrown in jail."
The San Diego Sheriff's Department gave the following written statement to ABC 10News:
"We support the public's rights to free speech and assembly. We encourage the peaceful gathering of our communities who want their voices heard. We do not comment on any individual case involving active or pending litigation. For those cases I have to respectfully refer you to County Counsel. At the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, we are committed to the safety of the people entrusted in our care. We are resolved in our core values of recognizing the dignity and value of every human life. We have instituted many changes in the last year, as well as initiated several investigations to ensure policies and procedures are being followed."
The department referenced this webpage as evidence of recent improvements to local jails.
