A memo obtained by this newspaper says that Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price plans to bring criminal charges against seven Alameda County sheriff’s deputies in connection with the death of Maurice Monk. Monk died in the Santa Rita Jail after going for days without care or much-needed medication.
Price called Yesenia Sanchez, the sheriff of Alameda County, on Friday afternoon and told her about her plans to file criminal charges. Sanchez then sent a memo to her staff outlining these plans. This newspaper got a copy of the memo, but it didn’t name any of the deputies or say what charges they might face.
This happened just a few days after early voting showed that Price was on track to become the first district attorney in the county’s history to be removed from office.
As of Friday evening, an unprecedented recall measure had passed by a 2-to-1 margin, making Price the first person in county history to be removed from office.
A spokesman for the sheriff’s office, Sgt. Roberto Morales, confirmed that the memo was real and said that no one had been arrested as of early Friday evening.
Sanchez spoke out for the deputies in her memo.
Sanchez wrote in her memo, “I must admit that mistakes were made in how we dealt with Mr. Monk. However, those mistakes do not rise to the level of criminal negligence.” “I’m very upset that Price decided to press charges in this case; I don’t think they should have been brought.” I will continue to help our staff get through this tough process.
Price’s office did not respond right away to a request for comment.
At the age of 45, Monk was found face-down on a mattress in his cell on November 15, 2021. There was a pool of urine nearby, and food that hadn’t been eaten was on the floor. His death caused a stir among activists who want to make the jail better. In the last ten years, many people have died there from suicide, drug overdoses, and murders.
He was arrested and taken to the Santa Rita Jail a little more than a month ago. He was being held on $2,500 bail while he was being charged with a misdemeanor crime of making threats against a bus driver. Court records show that he was arrested after a fight over whether he should wear a mask on the bus.
Later, security video from the jail showed that deputies walked by his cell many times in the days before he was pronounced dead, and some of them asked out loud, “Is (Monk) awake? “Is he still alive?” The video showed that none of them went into his cell to check for themselves. At one point, a deputy kicked food that wasn’t eaten out of the way of the door before leaving without doing anything else.
Monk’s family also said he didn’t take medicine that he desperately needed for a number of health problems, including schizoaffective disorder.
Elvira Monk, his sister, said she begged the jail staff 10 to 15 times to make sure Monk got his medicines, which included a monthly injection that is often used to treat schizophrenia.
David Mastagni, an attorney for the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association of Alameda County, asked people not to judge too quickly.
Mastagni said, “Everyone has the right to due process.” “Wait and see until the truth comes out.” The truth always comes out.
