Crime

OIG Report Raises Concerns About Overcrowded Jails, Lack of Care

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors postponed discussion of a report by the Office of Inspector General.

Published

7 years ago

March 5, 2019

Oakland Post

By Elizabeth Marcellino

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors postponed discussion of a report by the Office of Inspector General that raises concerns about overcrowded jails, poor quality of medical and mental health care for inmates and the persistence of dangerous social cliques in the Sheriff’s Department.

While none of those issues are new, the OIG report released this month highlights uncertainty about how effective Sheriff Alex Villanueva will be in tackling the problems.

One question is how cooperative the new sheriff plans to be in sharing information with the watchdog agency.

“Upon the new sheriff being elected, this office made a formal request to be notified of any action on ‘truth and reconciliation,’ the term the sheriff has used to describe his planned desire to rehire some deputies who have been fired for dishonesty or other misconduct, so that we could monitor the process. As of December 31, 2018, the Office of Inspector General has received no response,” according to the report.

The sheriff has already reinstated one deputy — a man who helped Villanueva win his post — who was terminated because of allegations of domestic violence and stalking and then lost an appeal to the Civil Service Commission.

Villanueva’s unilateral move drew harsh criticism last month from the Board of Supervisors, which asked county lawyers to figure out what recourse was available.

The sheriff, uncowed, said at the time there were a half-dozen similar cases that he planned to pursue, assuring board members they would agree with him once they heard the details.

As for secret cliques within the department, the OIG’s report took a more optimistic tack, saying Villanueva could be a catalyst for solving a decades-long problem.

“This failure has been going on for fifty years and is not the fault of any one sheriff or of the employees of the department. However, because we have a new administration, we have an opportunity to resolve the problem permanently now,” the report states. “The department should consult with deputy unions and the (Civilian Oversight Commission) and implement a policy prohibiting membership in organizations which advocate violation of laws, policy and civil rights or which conceal their nature and membership.”

Under former sheriff Jim McDonnell, the department took steps to shut down clubs in the custody division but stopped short of department-wide action, according to the OIG, which described a “centrally organized code of silence” among deputies. As evidence, it notes that despite multiple ongoing internal investigations, “this office believes that the number of deputies who have been asked to date about the membership of these groups or their nature is zero.”

The OIG report covers the period from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, so many of its findings about use-of-force data and in-custody deaths predate Villanueva’s term, which began Dec. 3.

It offers a stark assessment of jail overcrowding.

“Our jails contain too many prisoners to be properly run by the number of staff, custody and medical, assigned to them,” the report states.

That results in an increasing use of force — though the OIG also says department data on use-of-force incidents is unreliable – inadequate inmate welfare, and breakdowns in medical and mental health care. Examples cited include chaining mentally ill individuals to benches in the Inmate Reception Center for prolonged periods of time and women inmates being forced to wear paper underwear for two months because of a mix-up in ordering supplies.

There were six inmate deaths during the three months under review.

Three involved inmates of the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, most of whom had some medical or mental health issues, and one of those three was described as a suicide. None were related to a use-of-force incident, according to the OIG, which said it was concerned about the quality of care and poor coordination between jail guards and health care personnel.

There was some good news. Deputies involved in multiple shootings have been under increased scrutiny and some have been removed from the field. In 2016, 34 percent of deputies involved in shootings had been involved in one or more previous shootings. In 2017, that ratio dropped to 19 percent and in 2018 to 3 percent. There were four deputy-involved shootings during the three months in question, three of which involved armed suspects and none of which appeared to result in a fatality.

The report also provided use-of-force data, but with so many caveats that it is hard to draw conclusions beyond the report’s statement that incidents are on the rise. However, the OIG and court monitors have previously said that the kind of bone-breaking violence seen during Sheriff Lee Baca’s tenure and leading to lawsuits and federal oversight is now a very rare occurrence.

Villanueva has reported dramatic increases in the use of force as well as inmate attacks on deputies to challenge the success of reforms instituted by McDonnell. The OIG and others have challenged the accuracy of that data and raised concerns that the numbers will be used to justify rolling back changes.

This article originally appeared in the Los Angeles Sentinel.

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Black History

Oakland Observes Black August with Block Parties, Film Showings, Workshops

POST NEWS GROUP — Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

Published

22 hours ago

August 15, 2026

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George Jackson wrote two books: “Soledad Brother,” and “Blood in My Eye” before her was killed in an attempt to escape prison on Aug. 21, 1971.

By Jana Lang, Propel Youth Reporter

Study. Train. Fast. Fight.

These are the four tenets of Black August, a month dedicated to commemorating the sacrifices of political prisoners and Black revolutionaries in the struggle for Black liberation.

Observers are urged to study the history of the Black struggle for freedom, train their bodies for health and self-defense, fast to cleanse the mind, body, and spirit, and fight ongoing oppression alongside their communities and local political organizations.

Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

While in prison, George befriended fellow prisoner W.L. Nolen, who introduced him to the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Frantz Fanon. This radicalization coupled with his experiences of violence while imprisoned led to him writing and publishing two books, “Soledad Brother” (1970), and “Blood in my Eye” (1972). In January of 1970, George and two other prisoners were charged with murdering a corrections officer at Soledad State Prison in Monterey County.

On Aug. 7, 1970, Jonathan Jackson burst into a Marin County courtroom armed with a shotgun to demand the freedom of the Soledad Brothers. He, along with the inmates he freed, was shot and killed while driving away. This involved one of the Black Panther Party’s most notable associates, Angela Davis, because the shotgun was registered in her name. She was later acquitted of charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder in 1972.

On Aug. 21, 1971, George Jackson was assassinated by a corrections officer after attempting to escape and free other inmates. As a result, there were uprisings and protests within prisons all over the country that year, calling forth resistance against racial oppression and mass incarceration.

Since its outset, Black August has evolved across the country, taking many forms to honor this history and embody the four tenets.

In Oakland, the upcoming Black August Experience, hosted by Youth Alive! and the East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA), is a free, family-friendly event celebrating the legacy of Black August. Activities include free food and drinks, a kids’ activity zone, interactive workshops, live cooking and boxing demonstrations, and more.

Happening on Aug. 21 from 4-8 p.m. at the EOBA Patio, Carolyn Flynn, director of administration at EOBA, said the event, in its second year, will be an opportunity to engage with people in person through food, shared space, and education.

“We do regular classes in education, and those are ongoing programs that we offer, but we wanted to have [an opportunity] for our neighbors to utilize this space.” Combined with Youth Alive’s work in community violence prevention and youth leadership, this event surely aims to bring the Oakland community together to capture what Black August means today.

Here are additional Black August events happening in Oakland:

Forum and Community Discussion hosted by the Oakland Liberation Center, 1499 Fruitvale Ave., Aug. 14, 7 p.m.

“George Jackson/San Quentin” Screening hosted by Nostalgic for Nothing Cinema at Moments Co-Op, 410 13th St., Aug. 16, doors at 6 p.m., show at 6:30 p.m. (Masks required and scent-free)

Commemorating the Struggle, Building the Altar for Liberation: Black August at Bandung Books, 2269 International Blvd., Aug. 23rd, 1-5 p.m.

Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of August 12 – 18, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of August 12 – 18, 2026

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22 hours ago

August 15, 2026

Oakland Post

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Crime

Congresswoman Simon Demands Investigation into Trump’s Abuse of Emergency Powers for Coal Export Terminal in West Oakland

POST NEWS GROUP — Last week, in a letter to the GAO Acting Comptroller General Orice Williams Brown, Simon and her colleagues questioned the Department of Energy’s plan to use up to $425 million in DPA funds to support coal-fired power plants and construct the West Gateway Terminal Project in Oakland.

Published

1 week ago

August 9, 2026

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‘No On Coal’ demonstrators protest the use of the Port of Oakland as a terminal to ship coal overseas. File photo.

By Post Staff

U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) joined California senators and other members of the California delegation to Congress to call on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the Trump administration’s use of the Defense Production Act and other taxpayer funds to support coal projects, including the proposed coal export terminal in West Oakland.

Defense Production Act funding is for national defense emergencies, such as authorizing private car companies to build parts for tanks or ships.

Since President Donald Trump’s June 4 announcement of $75 million in funding for the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal, Simon has opposed and worked to stop the proposed coal terminal.

She filed an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2027 Energy and Water Appropriations bill that would have prohibited funding for the proposed Oakland coal export terminal project; however, House Republicans blocked the amendment.

Last week, in a letter to the GAO Acting Comptroller General Orice Williams Brown, Simon and her colleagues questioned the Department of Energy’s plan to use up to $425 million in DPA funds to support coal-fired power plants and construct the West Gateway Terminal Project in Oakland.

This terminal project would primarily serve foreign commercial markets, rather than meet national emergency needs.

“The Defense Production Act was intended to scale up domestic industrial capabilities to meet urgent military or national emergency needs; therefore, its invocation to construct a commercial, civilian export facility intended primarily to serve foreign commercial markets raises profound statutory, legal, and fiscal questions,” wrote the lawmakers, which included Senators Alex Padilla (D) and Adam Schiff (D), Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee and Reps. John Garamendi (D-CA-08) and Ro Khanna (D-CA-17).

“We do not believe this satisfies the statutory definition of ‘national defense’ or ‘critical infrastructure protection’ under the DPA and that there is no legally sufficient, data-driven nexus between civilian coal exports and immediate U.S. military readiness or critical infrastructure defense,” the lawmakers’ letter said.

DPA funds are intended for U.S. national security and defense readiness. The Trump administration is instead diverting these funds to support a commercial export project that primarily benefits private industries and foreign markets in East Asia.

“Congress has never appropriated funds to the DOE’s DPA account with the intent of propping up a dying industry or financing a purely commercial project,” continued the lawmakers. “We are deeply concerned that DOE has improperly diverted funds from accounts intended by Congress for the critical modernization and resilience support of our nation’s grid to instead finance a commercial fossil fuel export project.”

Simon and colleagues also raised concerns that the Trump administration has improperly diverted funds designated for critical grid modernization and may be using emergency authorities to circumvent local environmental protections.

“With no clear national security nexus, we question whether the DOE utilized emergency DPA authorities with the intent of preempting or subverting valid local health ordinances and environmental regulations. If so, this would be a gross departure from the intent of the DPA,” concluded the lawmakers.