SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper says he’s tired of being blamed for problems at the jail that he says are out of his control.
It includes the recent arrests of four people charged with smuggling drugs and tools into the jail in August.
The sheriff blamed the county’s Adult Correctional Health Department and called for new leadership.
He said the staff member charged with bringing drugs into the jail was so blatant as to make the exchanges right in front of the jail. They believe there were multiple incidents.
The sheriff’s office announced to two additional arrests on Wednesday, which now brings the total to six people charged. Dimauri Allendandridge and Roderick Turk were accused of supplying the drugs for the sale to inmates.
The six people are accused of smuggling drugs and tools into the Sacramento County Jail, including Zareonna Harris who worked as a medical assistant at the jail.
Investigators said Harris worked with inmates and others to distribute drugs at the jail. They said she was caught on surveillance video giving drugs to an inmate and detectives witnessed her receiving drugs outside of the jail.
“Detectives allowed the exchange to occur and intercepted Harris as she entered the jail with cocaine, a cellphones, a charging cable and screw heads to allow inmates to manipulate locks and manufacture weapons,” said Cooper.
While that investigation continues, Sheriff Jim Cooper is calling out another issue with the county, specifically the department that oversees medical at the jail, Adult Correctional Health.
Cooper stood alongside police chiefs from Folsom, Galt and Elk Grove saying they’re upset about how the department is being run. They are frustrated with the booking wait time, saying sometimes it can take an entire shift.
“There have been six deaths this year, five were medical, one was an inmate-on-inmate fight. I have no control over jail medical. I don’t hire; I don’t fire. I don’t discipline anybody, yet the sheriff is blamed for everything,” said Cooper.
When inmates are taken to the emergency room, two deputies are required to escort them. Cooper says last year, 1,800 visit were made to the emergency room. Some of them for matters as simple as high blood pressure.
“If you call 911, you want someone to show up. I don’t want someone down at the main jail babysitting someone,” said Cooper.
The county provided the following statement:
"Meeting the requirements of the federal Mays Consent Decree is a shared responsibility between Adult Correctional Health (ACH) and the Sheriff’s Office, as the operator of the jail.
Inmates being booked into the Sacramento County Jail have a Constitutional right to a standard of medical care, and Adult Correctional Health will not compromise that standard of care.
The County acknowledges that the intake and booking process is multi-faceted, does not solely include a health screening, and that adequate space is an issue, resulting in longer booking times.
The County is working, along with the Sheriff’s Department, toward a larger intake facility and accessibility issues within the jail, in compliance with the Decree.
Adult Correctional Health conducted an analysis of medical send-outs earlier this year and concluded that 85% of send-outs were appropriate. Additional technicians and equipment can reduce the need for medical referrals. The County has used telemedicine services since June and will continue to assess expansion.
Adult Correctional Health looks forward to continuing productive conversations with the Sheriff’s Office on how to improve medical care within the Main Jail.”
Sheriff Cooper says when he was jail commander from 2001 to 2003 medical was under the sheriff’s jurisdiction, and he says they didn’t have these issues. It changed over to the county in 2018.
The sheriff says, since these arrests, there have been no overdoses in the jail.
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