Moderated by civil rights attorney Jen Orthwein, the April 20 press conference speakers included Cat Brooks, cofounder of the Anti Police Terror Project; José Bernal, organizing director for the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights; Robert Abeyta, formerly-incarcerated in Santa Rita Jail; civil rights attorney Yolanda Huang; and Lina García Schmidt, coordinator of the NLG-SFBA’s Santa Rita Jail Hotline. Since then, County Counsel Clay Christianson appeared in court on Wednesday, April 21 to oppose Judge Sekany’s order, arguing that the Court overstepped its role by ordering Mr. Harris’s transport. Judge Sekany subsequently vacated her order but stated on the record that the Court is in “a challenging position” due to Santa Rita Jail and Wellpath’s refusal to provide sufficient information regarding Mr. Harris’s course of treatment. The justice system “should not deprive an individual of medical care,” she stated. As a last resort, Mr. Harris’s Public Defender requested an own-recognizance (OR) release so that Mr. Harris’s supporters could transport him to the hospital independently of a noncompliant Santa Rita Jail. District Attorney Monica Brock rejected this proposal, arguing that Mr. Harris cannot be released because he represents a public safety risk – even though his condition has left him unable to stand, walk, or chew his food. Mr. Harris himself reaffirmed for the record that his condition has caused him to contemplate suicide, stating “I’m in extreme pain – what more do I have to do? All the people [in my life] are dead, and I’m thinking about joining them.” ACSO “won’t do any kind of [preventative care] unless they’re forced to,” affirmed Robert Abeyta during the press conference. Mr. Abeyta suffers from sleep apnea and was denied access to a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine while incarcerated because he could not afford to purchase the thousand-dollar device. “I went through not having a CPAP for the first month I was there, and I stayed awake for almost 30 days…because I couldn’t sleep without it. We obtained several court orders, but [ACSO] would just ignore them.” Santa Rita Jail has “no concern for the amount of pain a person is in,” added Yolanda Huang, emphasizing that Santa Rita Jail takes a “dollars and cents” approach intended to minimize the amount of funds spent on the wellbeing of incarcerated people. Meanwhile, added José Bernal, the Sheriff has a budget of nearly half a billion dollars, major expenditures of which remain largely hidden from the public. Bernal also shared the names of the 50 people who have died while in the custody of ACSO in recent years. "We need to reinvest our valuable tax dollars into affirming our communities and in health-affirming resources, because we cannot continue down this path," he said. "What we need to invest in is services that deal with trauma, mental health, and that keep families and communities together. We do not need to continue funding a murderer [Sheriff Ahern]," said Cat Brooks. Brooks also condemned Alameda County officials for continuing to sponsor the state-sanctioned torture of community members such as Randy Harris, who was initially injured in a fall on October 3, 2020 and was subsequently diagnosed with spinal stenosis, a condition which puts pressure on the nerves and causes excruciating pain. In a April 13 declaration to the court, an emergency physician found that Mr. Harris has experienced substandard care while incarcerated. |
