The Monterey County Jail Covid outbreak draws scrutiny and calls for change.

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office got a handle on Covid-19 in the jail it oversees in the summer of 2020 by stopping visitation and requiring virtual court appearances, among other restrictions. A year later, the delta variant found its way behind bars after restrictions were lifted and on Sept. 14, officials publicly acknowledged they had an outbreak on their hands. Within a few days, cases among inmates jumped from 30 to 130.

That alarmed the attorneys keeping tabs on the jail since 2016, the year that Monterey County, the Sheriff’s Office and the jail’s medical contractor, Wellpath, entered into a court-approved settlement agreement to improve access to medical and mental health care. The attorneys successfully petitioned the court to allow monitor Mike Brady of Sabot Consulting to inspect the jail on Sept. 24. In a report to U.S. District Court Judge Nathanael Cousins, Brady shared some praise for efforts already underway to protect inmates and staff, balanced with a dozen recommendations for change.

“We were happy to hear about the recent vaccination clinics,” says attorney Cara Trapani of Galvan & Grunfeld, the firm that brought the original lawsuit. While jail officials have made some progress, “the elephant in the room is the population of the 874 inmates still living there… it only takes one spark to erupt.” (The jail’s official capacity is 825.)

Brady’s report praised Sheriff Steve Bernal for temporarily using his authority in the summer of 2020 to release some inmates and recommended Bernal use that authority again by releasing 100-200 inmates. Brady suggested alternative forms of monitored custody, as well as substance abuse or mental health treatment programs, home detention or their own recognizance. The Sheriff’s Office is amenable to other recommendations in Brady’s report but it will not release more inmates, says Chief Deputy Jim Bass. “We’re not going to arbitrarily release 200 people from the jail, it’s not in the best interest of the community’s safety,” he says.

The Sheriff’s Office has already been doing most of Brady’s recommendations, Bass says. Those recommendations range from vital sign checks and serial Covid-19 testing, as well as immediately testing inmates with any signs of infection. Brady recommended in-person court visits stop; he was critical of Monterey County Superior Court for not making masks mandatory for all, regardless of vaccination status.

Inmates launched a hunger strike on Oct. 19 to protest conditions. Inmates who spoke to the Weekly dispute that sheriff’s deputies have been doing enough to stop the spread of Covid and claim one inmate, Sergio Gonzalez, died on Sept. 24 as a result of the virus. Sources say Gonzalez’s family was told by officials he died by suicide. Bass will only say they are waiting on a pathology report.

Trapani says that either way, attorneys are “highly concerned.” Decreasing suicides in the jail is mandatory under the 2016 court order, and while some progress has been made, “we do think the mental health care needs to be improved,” she says.

One inmate, Raul Tapia, says he’s continually petitioned authorities to improve conditions, including making sure deputies don’t bring Covid in from the outside. “You’re endangering our lives by bringing it in here,” he recalls telling a commander. “You have the luxury of going home.”