Santa Clara County jail deaths highest in two decades
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Santa Clara County jail deaths reached a 20-year high in 2024.
Ten people died in the custody of the Sheriff’s Office last year across the main jail, Elmwood Correctional Facility and county hospitals where deputies transported incarcerated people for medical care. More than half of the total deaths happened at the Elmwood facility in Milpitas. The number of deaths doubled from five in 2023.
While the causes of two deaths are pending further investigation, five deaths were attributed to natural causes. One death is attributed to a fatal drug overdose while the incarcerated person was awaiting a plea hearing, and two deaths were by suicide — with one of those people waiting for their first court date.
A review of county jail data, maintained by the California Department of Justice, shows 2024 with the highest number of jail deaths for a single year since 2005 when Sheriff Bob Jonsen’s predecessor, Laurie Smith, was in office. Jonsen took office in 2022 after campaigning on promises to reform the sheriff’s office that has weathered scrutiny for violent custodial beatings and civil rights violations that put the county jail under two federal consent decrees — legally binding plans to improve jail conditions where federal monitors routinely conduct visits.
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Brooks Jarosz, spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, acknowledged the increase as "concerning," but argued it mirrors trends seen across the state that could worsen with last year’s passage of Proposition 36, a voter-approved ballot measure that ramped up criminal punishment for petty theft and saw a key champion in San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.
"Advocates have pointed out that this may lead to an increase in inmate deaths as well," Jarosz told San José Spotlight.
He also said deaths by suicide went down three in 2023 to two last year. In response to the overdose death, Jarosz said the office is committed to preventing contraband from entering the jails. He said for more than a year, his office increased access to naloxone to combat overdoses across the jail facilities, saving "dozens of lives."
"To enhance this effort, all individuals entering custody are required to pass through a body scanner, and routine searches are conducted. In the last quarter of 2024, we also introduced a second canine team for regular inspections of housing areas, common areas and the perimeter of jail property," Jarosz said.
The deaths are "very alarming," Sean Allen, NAACP San Jose/Silicon Valley president and a former county correctional officer, told San José Spotlight.
"It tells me the county should look again at how they’re managing the jails and who is managing them," Allen said.
Official sheriff documents only give specifics on two of the five natural cause deaths. One 59-year-old male died on Feb. 4 of congestive heart failure at the main jail while waiting for a court hearing for supervised release. Another 74-year-old male died of metastatic lung cancer on May 13 while awaiting compassionate release at Valley Medical Center.
The fatal drug overdose of a 27-year-old male occurred on April 6, the date he had a court hearing for an unspecified crime. County jail data shows the overdose was accidental.
One death by suicide occurred on June 28, when a 49-year-old male hanged himself at Elmwood while awaiting a sex offender registration court hearing in July. The other death by suicide happened on July 10, when a 24-year-old male hanged himself at the main jail while awaiting an arraignment hearing for an unspecified crime.
One death with cause still considered "pending" concerned a 33-year-old male who died at Elmwood on Nov. 20 while awaiting a sentencing date for an unspecified crime. There’s one more pending cause of death for a 30-year-old male who died on Dec. 17 at Elmwood while awaiting a hearing about his competency to stand trial.
While data attributes half the deaths to natural causes, Allen said the 74-year-old incarcerated person’s death due to lung cancer — before his compassionate release was processed — raises questions about unnecessary detention and delays to release.
Allen also raised concerns about leadership over the jail’s custody health services division, which reviews custody deaths for possible failures or deficiencies — and lessons to be learned from jail deaths — and whose former director left the office last year.
"To our knowledge, they haven’t filled that position permanently yet," Allen said.
A county spokesperson confirmed an interim director is still leading the division.
While the number of deaths is high compared to prior years, it’s difficult to draw meaningful conclusions from numbers alone as each death presents distinct issues, according to Michael Gennaco, whose police reform firm OIR Group is contracted by Santa Clara County to conduct oversight of the sheriff’s office.
"Every one of these deaths is tragic, and the increase in number in 2024 over prior years is unfortunate," Gennaco told San José Spotlight.
Gennaco said his office regularly attends meetings with custody health services about jail deaths, and praised the division’s "thoroughness" and "attention to detail."
"We’ll be reporting on our impressions more specifically later this year," Gennaco said.
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors President Susan Ellenberg, a key progressive voice on the governing body, has been vocal about criminal justice reform.
"There is no acceptable level of deaths," Ellenberg told San José Spotlight. "It is our obligation to ensure the safety of every person in county custody. I support alternatives to incarceration when that option doesn’t pose a safety risk to other community members, as well as compassionate release when requested and deemed appropriate by the sheriff."
This story was originally published on SanJoseSpotlight.com