Jail case “inexcusable,” “shocking” and “horrific” say monitors  — Supervisors push for reforms and transparency

SAN JOSE – The Santa Clara Board of Supervisors Tuesday received the final report from the Office of Correction and Law Enforcement Monitoring (OCLEM) on the 2019 in-custody incident in which then-28-year-old Juan Martin Nuñez suffered a permanent cervical spine injury, paralyzing him for life. The report, presented in response to a referral by County Supervisor Joe Simitian, includes 16 recommendations for improving supervision, management, and accountability in County jails regarding the treatment of mental illness for individuals in custody.

In August 2019, Nuñez was in the custody of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and Custody Health Services, serving a short misdemeanor sentence, his first ever encounter with the County jails. While in the Acute Psychiatric Unit of the Main Jail, he ran headfirst into the door of his cell, resulting in a severe spinal injury. He lay immobile in his cell for 24-hours without medical care. Multiple nurses fabricated records detailing checks that did not occur, despite Mr. Nuñez calling for help and screaming in pain. At one point, he was roughly moved from the floor to his bed, despite his protestations and complaints of injury and paralysis. In 2022, the County settled a lawsuit with Nuñez in the amount of $7 million.

The Board of Registered Nursing subsequently filed formal accusations against five nurses. One nurse had their license revoked. Two nurses voluntarily surrendered their licenses. Proceedings against two others are still pending.

In addition to describing and analyzing the incident, the OCLEM report contains 16 recommendations for improving supervision, management, and accountability in County jails. “What happened to Mr. Nuñez is appalling and horrific,” said Simitian.

“This is ugly stuff, but if you don’t honestly confront it, you can’t possibly fix it,” Simitian said. “The report describes the ‘abysmal conduct’ of the staff involved,” said Simitian, “and says the case should be a wake up call. It certainly should. The most important thing here is the section on recommendations for the future — that’s how we keep people safe, treat them right, and avoid costly litigation.”

County Sheriff Robert Jonsen and Dr. Eureka Daye, Director of Custody Health Services, both of whom assumed their current posts after the incident took place, addressed the Board. Dr. Daye described the behavior of Custody Health Services in case of Mr. Nuñez as “egregious” and “blameworthy.” When asked about the OCLEM recommendations, Jonsen noted that the Sheriff’s Department is working to implement all that apply to that office. “We are moving forward on every one of them,” he stated.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the Board also approved a referral from Simitian that requires County Counsel to report quarterly on the settlement of tort lawsuits of $1 million or more filed against the County. Tort lawsuits are those in which an individual alleges that they have been harmed by the County and are seeking civil or financial redress.

Simitian’s referral increases transparency surrounding the use of taxpayer money for settlements. Under existing law, all discussions surrounding lawsuits filed against the County and potential settlements typically occur in closed session, meaning they are not ordinarily open to public discussion and scrutiny.

In the future, County Counsel will publicly report to the Board on any tort lawsuits which the County settles at equal to or greater than $1 million. Simitian said he introduced the referral to increase transparency, and promote greater accountability.

“Like any large county government, Santa Clara County sees its fair share of lawsuits. Some are small, but some are large and very serious,” said Simitian. “When the County pays out millions of dollars of taxpayer money, the public has a right to know what’s going on. In the absence of the public knowing about these payouts, there’s no accountability in the system.”

The action builds on other efforts by Simitian during his current tenure on the Board, including: civilian oversight of the Sheriff’s Department; use of body-worn cameras; mandatory implicit bias training; and the 2021 vote of no confidence in former-Sheriff Laurie Smith.

Simitian has pushed the County to improve in areas involving public safety and justice, including:

• In 2015, in response to the murder of County jail inmate Michael Tyree by three correctional officers, Simitian championed civilian oversight which led to the creation of the Office of Correction and Law Enforcement Monitoring (OCLEM). Today OCLEM continues to provide independent monitoring of the County’s corrections and law enforcement functions. Other reforms adopted at the same time continue as well, including use of body worn cameras and mandatory implicit bias training.
• In 2020, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, Simitian successfully advocated for additional criminal justice reforms, including changes to County use-of-force policies, and restructuring of the County’s emergency response procedures.
• In 2021, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Simitian’s referral making public information relating to the permanent and life altering injuries suffered by Andrew Hogan while incarcerated.  The County settled a tort lawsuit with Mr. Hogan in the amount of $10 million. At the time, Simitian argued that without transparency there could be no true accountability.
• In 2021, Simitian and his Board colleagues passed a vote of no confidence in then-Sheriff Laurie Smith. In 2022, following a half dozen accusations by the Civil Grand Jury, then-Sheriff Smith retired and did not seek re-election. A jury subsequently found her guilty on six corruption and misconduct counts.

“We really need to sunshine these million-dollar settlements,” said Simitian. “They reveal a lot. And we can’t accept the notion that multi-million-dollar payouts are simply the cost of doing business. I firmly hope that when the public understands the magnitude of these settlements, they will demand better operational controls so these incidents are no longer simply business as usual.”