California attorney general sues LA County, sheriff over jail conditions

LOS ANGELES (CN) — Accusations of moldy food and roach infestations led California’s attorney general to file suit on Monday against Los Angeles agencies over jail conditions.

Attorney General Rob Bonta filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the county, its sheriff’s department, Sheriff Robert Luna, county correctional health services, and Timothy Belavich, director of correctional health services. Speaking at a press conference, Bonta said the county has known about the inhuman conditions and neglect permeating the jail system and failed to correct it.

Los Angeles County has the largest jail system in the nation, Bonta said, and one of the most problematic.

“Let me be clear: This is about human dignity,” the attorney general said. “These conditions aren’t new.”

In the suit, Bonta asks for a judge to find that the jail conditions and the defendants’ policies and practices violate the Eighth and 14th Amendments, as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act. He’s asked a judge to order the defendants to provide adequate medical care, protect them from unreasonable risk of harm, and stop them from perpetuating what he called unlawful conditions and policies.

Bonta’s office began an investigation in 2021 into the sheriff’s department and its jails. That investigation revealed systemic problems in administration and management, the attorney general says.

“Defendants fail to meaningfully train and supervise custody and health care staff to prevent violations and fail to discipline misconduct by staff,” he adds.

The jail conditions include what Bonta called filthy and unsafe facilities with broken plumbing, as well as rodent infestations. He added that inmates receive spoiled and moldy food, have little to no access to sanitary products, lack proper clothing and bedding, and face near-constant confinement in their cells.

Bonta argued Los Angeles officials have resisted oversight and spent millions of dollars battling reforms, some of which they opted into in prior consent agreements.

“They still haven’t implemented the needed change,” Bonta added.

The inability of some prisoners to access care has led to a “shocking” death rate in the jails. Almost 38% of deaths in jails between 2016 and this year stemmed from preventable circumstances like overdoses, suicides or violence, Bonta says in the suit.

That equals over 345 people dying over the past nine years, with some 60% of those deaths happening since 2021. Thirty-six of those deaths have occurred this year, about one a week, Bonta said.

“This puts the county on track to have more in-custody deaths in 2025 than at any time in the past 20 years,” he adds.

The county has also publicly said its Men’s Central Jail needs replacing. The Board of Supervisors voted in 2020 to shutter it, though it remains open without its essential problems being addressed, Bonta notes in the lawsuit.

He added that an oversight body once called the issue a humanitarian crisis. The Sybil Brand Commission for Institutional Inspections used those words in a 2023 report to supervisors and the sheriff.

“[The commission] finds a frustrating persistence of crisis conditions rooted not only in overcrowding but also the manner in which the jail is administered,” it said in its report. “There is an urgent need for the county to address the root causes of persistent, inhumane conditions in its jails.”

Bonta said his office could wait no longer. Comprehensive reform was needed immediately.

“We’re left with no choice but to sue,” Bonta said. “I’d prefer collaboration over litigation, but the county has left us no choice.”

In a statement, Luna said his office has remained cooperative with the state Department of Justice throughout its investigation.

“I want to commend our custody personnel whose dedication and hard work have been the driving force behind the measurable and significant progress we’ve made across all our major federal settlement agreements,” Luna said in a statement. “Despite ongoing challenges, including a rising inmate population and an aging Men’s Central Jail, our staff have remained committed to providing constitutional, humane care to those in our custody. We are not waiting for mandates, we are proactively advancing reforms to build a safer, more accountable custody environment. I’m proud of the progress we’ve made and confident in our ability to continue delivering meaningful change for our community.”

A county representative couldn’t be reached for comment.