The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office must be held accountable for its outrageous treatment of a mentally ill man, Andrew Hogan, who severely injured himself while being transported in jail custody on Aug. 25, 2018.
Hogan was permanently disabled by the injuries he suffered. The clear evidence of neglect by the sheriff’s office resulted in the county agreeing to a $10 million settlement with Hogan’s family.
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday released a previously confidential county counsel memo and a civilian auditor’s report saying there was no explanation as to why an internal investigation into the incident was dropped.
Given the circumstances, that’s inconceivable. It provides yet another reason for our repeated calls for Sheriff Laurie Smith to resign. When the Board of Supervisors unanimously approves a vote of no confidence in the sheriff, as they did Aug. 31, it’s time for Smith to go.
The memo reveals that on Aug. 25, 2018, Hogan was transported from Elmwood to the Main Jail in San Jose after he was seen banging his head against a cell wall. During the five-mile drive he repeatedly hit his head against the walls of the van.
According to the report, upon arrival at the Main Jail, a nurse called for an ambulance response for a major head injury. But a supervisor advised waiting for a hazmat-suited team to help Hogan because of the blood inside. Until then, Hogan “could do all the damage he wants,” the unnamed supervisor said, according to an audio recording cited in both documents.
That kind of callous behavior screams out for further investigation to determine whether disciplinary action is warranted. So does the indication that jail staff “stood casually” as Hogan lapsed into unconsciousness.
But the auditor’s report offers an indication that the sheriff’s office may have had political motives for dropping the investigation. Amy Le was the lieutenant and watch commander when Hogan arrived at the Main Jail. That same year, Le was also the head of the correctional officers’ union that backed Smith’s 2018 re-election bid with financial and political support. Smith promoted Le after the sheriff won re-election. But Le clashed with the sheriff in 2019 over a privately funded gazebo at Elmwood that ultimately led to Le’s retirement and an ensuing lawsuit.
The Hogan incident is hardly the first time that Smith’s leadership has been called into question.
In 2016, jail guards fatally beat inmate Michael Tyree, who was bipolar. The county settled a lawsuit filed by Tyree’s family for $3.6 million, and three correctional officers were convicted of second-degree murder. In 2019, a mentally ill inmate, Juan Martin Nunez, was rendered a quadriplegic in an incident of alleged deputy inaction. Nunez alleges the jail staff waited 24 hours before calling paramedics. Sources believe the payout for incident could cost county taxpayers more than $10 million. Yet county officials still do not have access to records in the Nunez case beyond what is in the public record.
If that wasn’t bad enough, in 2020 the sheriff invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when appearing before a grand jury in a pay-to-play concealed weapons investigation involving her own office. Smith refused to answer questions under oath about whether she knew about corruption in her own office or was involved in it herself.
The sheriff has steadfastly refused to resign. That leaves it up to county officials to hold her office accountable. And it brings an even greater need for political and law enforcement leaders to provide voters a solid alternative if Smith runs for a seventh term in 2022.
