Are California prison guards covering up misconduct? Lawmaker wants an investigation
The chairman of the Assembly Public Safety Committee has requested a broad investigation into whether California prison guards are covering up misconduct.
On Friday, two former California State Prison-Sacramento prison guards were charged with falsifying records to change details of an inmate’s death in 2016.
Court records say Arturo Pacheco, 38, and Ashley Marie Aurich, 31, were escorting a handcuffed 65-year-old inmate within the prison when Pacheco bent down and yanked the inmate’s legs backward out from under him. The inmate died two days later.
In a letter to Attorney General Xavier Becerra the same day, Assemblyman Reggie Jones Sawyer, D-Los Angeles, said the incident raises “concerns that more offenses against inmates have gone unnoticed, unreported or have been altered to justify the assault and protect the officer(s).”
Jones-Sawyer cited a 2018 Office of Inspector General’s finding that when Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation employees used force on inmates, they only complied fully with department policies about half of the time. The report reviewed uses of force for the second half of 2017.
“I am concerned about this trend of abuse and false reporting by prison guards,” Jones-Sawyer said in the letter. “We cannot tolerate a culture of intolerance and criminality that allows for violations of inmates’ rights and jeopardizes their safety.”
Jones-Sawyer has supported a range of changes to the criminal justice system, including proposals to get rid of mandatory minimum sentences for drug possession, eliminate a narcotics registry and increase oversight of corrections programs.
The union representing California prison guards spent more than $1 million this year attacking Jones-Sawyer and supporting his opponent in an aggressive but unsuccessful bid to unseat him.
Jones-Sawyer spokesman Richard Garcia, when asked whether the campaign played any role in the timing of the investigation request, said the request was based on the recent media reports of the charges against the CSP-Sacramento guards.
“A culture of silence and protection that allows the falsifying documents must end and (be) dealt with appropriately,” Garcia said in a statement. “This request is based on the recent reports related to such falsification and the attempted denial of truth and justice for family members.”
In an email, the Attorney General’s Office said it was reviewing the request and that “to protect its integrity, we can’t comment on a potential or ongoing investigation.”
The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the FBI conducted a thorough investigation of the CSP-Sacramento incident, CDCR spokeswoman Dana Simas said in an email.
“After substantiating allegations of misconduct and dishonesty, the officers involved were promptly dismissed from the department,” Simas said in the email. “CDCR has a zero tolerance policy for any form of dishonesty or abuse of authority. All reports of dishonesty or misconduct are investigated thoroughly, and proper disciplinary action is taken.”