9 deputies, 2 medical staff charged with Santa Rita Jail death of Oakland man
9 deputies, 2 medical staff charged with Santa Rita Jail death of Oakland man
The outgoing Alameda County District Attorney on Tuesday charged nine sheriff's deputies and two medical employees with the death of an Oakland man who had been languishing in his Santa Rita Jail cell for days before anyone noticed he was no longer alive.
OAKLAND, Calif. - The outgoing Alameda County District Attorney on Tuesday charged nine sheriff's deputies and two medical employees with the death of an Oakland man who had been languishing in his Santa Rita Jail cell for days before anyone noticed he was no longer alive.
Court records show that all the deputies and medical staff were charged with felony dependent adult abuse and neglect and three of the 11 were also charged with falsifying documents, also a felony.
Deputies Donall Chauncy Rowe, Thomas Mowrer, Ross Burruel, Robinderpal Singh Hayer, Andre Gaston, Troy Hershel White, Syear Osmani, Mateusz Laszuk and Christopher Haendel as well as Wellpath nurse David Everett Donoho and Alameda County Forensic Behavioral Health Dr. Neal Edwards were all charged with dependent adult abuse and neglect.
Hayer, White and Osmani were also charged with falsifying documents.
The charges stem from the Nov. 15, 2021 death of Maurice Monk.
KTVU first reported the conditions of Monk's death after obtaining exclusive body camera video inside the jail that shows no one physically checked on the 45-year-old man, who is seen lying half naked on his bunk, for at least three days, possibly four.
And when deputies finally found Monk's body, stacks of uneaten food trays and pills lay scattered about the floor near an oblong puddle of urine by the foot of his bed.
Last year, Monk's daughter and son won $7 million – an unprecedented amount from the sheriff's office.
In an email late Tuesday, Sgt. Roberto Morales said that of the nine deputies, seven are still active sworn staff and were immediately placed on paid administrative leave. Mower and White no longer work there.
"Today is undeniably a difficult day and brings forth a range of emotions and concerns," Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez said in a statement. "The loss of any life, especially within the walls of Santa Rita Jail, is a tragedy that we do not take lightly."
Over the weekend, Sanchez told KTVU in an email that she was "deeply disappointed by District Attorney Price’s decision to pursue charges, as I do not believe they are justified. I will continue to support our staff throughout this challenging process."
Wellpath, the company that provides medical care to the jail, chose not to comment.
Monk's sister, Elvira Monk of Oakland, was pleased to hear the news.
She said her brother's death was never about money.
"As long as they are charged and have to fight to still keep their jobs, that's all I wanted," she said.
Monk's other sister, Tiffany, shared similar sentiments.
"It's about a person's life being taken away. My niece and nephew don't have their dad no more," Tiffany Monk said. "He just had a grandkid that he'll never get to meet. All because somebody didn't do their job correctly. But yet [the officers are] still working, getting a check. Why?"
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Ty Clarke, who co-represented the Monk family in their civil matter, said he was happy that criminal charges have been filed.
But he stressed that he wants to see "this case fully litigated so that the horrible things that happened to Mr. Monk can be brought to light."
The timing of the charges comes three days before the statute of limitations runs out as the three-year anniversary of Monk's death is on Friday.
The timing of the charges also come one week after Price was ousted from her post as part of a historic effort to recall her.
It's unknown at this point if her successor will forge ahead with the case.
Price campaigned on a progressive platform not to overcriminalize Black and brown youth and men, as well as to hold the police accountable for their actions.
This is not the first time she's charged law enforcement in her short time in office.
Most recently, Price charged three Alameda police officers with manslaughter in the 2021 death of Mario Gonzalez.
But prosecutors missed a filing deadline and last month, two of the officers' cases were dismissed; a third officer is still facing charges.
It's been a long journey for Monk's family, who said he should never have been in jail in the first place.
The off-and-on security guard and former Castlemont High and Sac State football player was taken to jail in October 2021 after he got into a verbal argument several months earlier with an AC Transit bus driver during the pandemic for not wearing his mask. Monk suffers from schizoaffective disorder.
Elvira Monk had tried repeatedly to bring her brother his medication, but was denied because of bureaucratic red tape.
When deputies finally opened the door to Monk's cell and walked in, they realized he had been left on his bunk motionless for so long that the red print reading "Alameda County" on the front of his jail-issued T-shirt had stained his chest, mixing with fluids that had been leaking out of his body, according to an internal sheriff's report.
After a month in custody at Santa Rita Jail, Monk was officially declared dead of hypertensive cardiovascular disease.
But deputies’ narratives and a review of more than 150 body camera videos, obtained through a civil lawsuit reveal that Monk was likely dead, or dying, for several days before that.
Clarke, civil rights attorney Adante Pointer and staff at Lawyers for the People spent months poring over body camera video to piece together what happened.
What their efforts showed was that deputies and medical staff were seen dropping food and pills in through the slats of Monk's cell door, but they didn't enter the room to physically see why Monk wasn't eating or drinking.
And while the coroner ruled that he died of natural causes, Monk's case highlights what so many advocates have been saying for years: People incarcerated at Santa Rita Jail are not given the proper medical care.
As part of the civil suit, the sheriff vowed to make changes at Santa Rita Jail, including mandating more meaningful welfare checks and giving deputies electronic key cards to cut down on falsifying log checks.
KTVU reporter Jana Katsuyama contributed to this report.
Lisa Fernandez is a reporter for KTVU. Email Lisa at lisa.fernandez@fox.com or call her at 510-874-0139. Or follow her on Twitter @ljfernandez