Deputies ignored man as he choked on Santa Rita Jail wristband in 'preventable' death, lawsuit says

"For an hour and 21 minutes, Jose Pina Cardenas gasped and writhed on the floor of his Santa Rita Jail cell with a plastic wristband lodged in his throat, according to a federal lawsuit filed by his five children. But instead of helping him, multiple Alameda County sheriff's deputies allegedly dismissed his distress as "talking" and falsified a colleague's initials on a cell-check log, according to the lawsuit. His cell went unchecked for 52 minutes, the lawsuit claims."

"Cardenas' five children now say their father's death in June 2022 was not only entirely "preventable," but the "predictable result of a systemic pattern of deliberate indifference" that discriminates against mentally ill inmates, according to the wrongful death lawsuit filed last year against Alameda County. "It's horrible - they were supposed to be keeping an eye on him," said Christina Pallas, 34, who is the mother of Cardenas' youngest child, a 4-year-old girl."

"In February 2022 - just months before Cardenas' death - a federal judge approved a sweeping consent decree mandating a host of reforms at the jail, many of them aimed at improving mental health treatment. Cardenas himself had a history - noted in his jail medical file - of suicide attempts and suffered from several mental conditions, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and multiple personality disorder."

Jose Pina Cardenas gasped and writhed for an hour and 21 minutes in a Santa Rita Jail cell with a plastic wristband lodged in his throat. Multiple Alameda County sheriff's deputies allegedly dismissed his distress as "talking," falsified a cell-check log, and left his cell unchecked for 52 minutes. His five children assert that his June 2022 death was preventable and a predictable result of deliberate indifference toward mentally ill inmates. A February 2022 federal consent decree mandated reforms at the jail, including improved mental health treatment. Cardenas had documented suicide attempts and diagnoses including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and multiple personality disorder.

Read at The Mercury News