Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
LA Sheriff Says Inmates Tried to Infect Themselves
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
May 12, 2020

Share

LOS ANGELES — Two groups of inmates at a Los Angeles County jail tried to infect themselves with the coronavirus by sharing water and a mask, and within two weeks 30 prisoners tested positive, authorities said Monday.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva at a briefing showed surveillance videos from two dormitory units at the North County Correctional Facility in Castaic.

The footage captured inmates in one unit sharing a container of hot water and others in a second unit sniffing a mask.

Two of the 30 inmates, one from each unit, were later released from the jail as part of the department’s effort to reduce the prisoner population systemwide, according to Bruce Chase, the department’s assistant sheriff of custody operations.

Two of the 30 inmates, one from each unit, were later released from the jail as part of the department’s effort to reduce the prisoner population systemwide, according to Bruce Chase, the department’s assistant sheriff of custody operations.

Villanueva said the inmates used hot water to try to raise their temperatures just before a nurse checked them. An elevated temperature is a symptom for coronavirus.

The sheriff said the inmates mistakenly believed that if they were infected they would be freed.

“It’s dismaying and it’s disheartening,” he said.

None of the 30 inmates required critical care when they were sick, though some had moderate symptoms, Chase said. No prisoners within the county’s jail system — the largest in the country — have died from the virus.

Jails and prisons nationwide have become flashpoints in the pandemic. More than 25,000 inmates have been infected and about 350 have died nationwide — from Rikers Island in New York City to federal, state, and local lockups coast to coast, according to an unofficial tally kept by the COVID-19 Behind Bars Data Project run by UCLA Law.

In California, five inmates in a state prison in San Bernardino County have died from COVID-19 complications and outbreaks at federal penitentiaries at Terminal Island in San Pedro and Lompoc are considered among the country’s worst.

Within Two Weeks, 21 Inmates in the Water Container Case Had COVID-19

In Los Angeles County, the North County Correctional Facility didn’t have a single COVID-19 case in mid-April. Days later, nine inmates were flagged as being potentially sick, Chase said.

Deputies had been reviewing surveillance video trying to see if the inmates were socially distancing and using their masks when “lo and behold, we stumbled across footage that was very troubling to us,” Chase said.

The mid-April video showed a group of inmates passing around a mask and sniffing it. As authorities were investigating that incident, they found out about a second case where inmates were sipping from the same container of water in late April.

The sheriff’s department has released more than 5,000 inmates during the pandemic to create more social distancing and reduce the spread of the virus.

Within two weeks, 21 inmates in the water container case had COVID-19 and nine prisoners from the mask incident were sick, Chase said.

He said there’s no evidence the mask or water container came from an infected inmate, and the prisoners may have just been trying to spread the virus if they had it. No inmates have admitted to a scheme.

Chase said his deputies need to better educate the inmates about the virus and the severity of their actions.

“We’re responsible for their care,” Chase said. “That includes protecting them from themselves.”

The sheriff’s department has released more than 5,000 inmates during the pandemic to create more social distancing and reduce the spread of the virus.

The department has freed inmates using several qualifications, including if they are within 60 days of release. Inmates who have tested positive for the virus can be released; six total inmates from the North County Correctional Facility have been freed.

Inmates who are awaiting COVID-19 test results are being held in a downtown jail’s hospital ward or being treated at a county hospital if their symptoms are more severe.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. The vast majority of people recover.

DON'T MISS

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

DON'T MISS

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

DON'T MISS

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

DON'T MISS

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

DON'T MISS

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

DON'T MISS

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

DON'T MISS

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

DON'T MISS

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

DON'T MISS

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

DON'T MISS

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

UP NEXT

What Will Happen to CNBC and MSNBC When They No Longer Have a Corporate Connection to NBC News?

UP NEXT

Major Storm Drops Record Rain, Downs Trees in Northern California After Devastation Further North

UP NEXT

Newsom Heads to Fresno, a County That Voted for Trump

UP NEXT

Conservative Professors and Students Are Beating CA Community Colleges in Court

UP NEXT

Thousands of University of California Workers Go on 2-Day Strike Over Wages, Staff Shortages

UP NEXT

Gavin Newsom Pledged to Release His Tax Returns Every Year. The Last One Was for 2020.

UP NEXT

California Governor Will Not Make Clemency Decision for Menendez Brothers Until New DA Reviews Case

UP NEXT

Fewer Kids Are Going to California Public Schools. Is There a Right Way to Close Campuses?

UP NEXT

California Voters Reject Measure That Would Have Raised Minimum Wage to Nation-High $18 Per Hour

UP NEXT

With Democracy Supposedly at Stake, California Voters Stayed Away in Droves

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

1 hour ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

2 hours ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

2 hours ago

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

2 hours ago

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

2 hours ago

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

3 hours ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

3 hours ago

Fresno Council Lowers Speed Limits on Friant and Audubon

3 hours ago

How About an Honest Conversation About the Range of Light Monument Proposal?

4 hours ago

UConn Coach Geno Auriemma Breaks NCAA Wins Record With 1,217th Victory

5 hours ago

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

Gov. Gavin Newsom in a stop Thursday in Fresno defended the recent actions of his air board, saying he takes “pride” in new clim...

17 minutes ago

17 minutes ago

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

President Joe Biden with Mary Barra, the chief executive of General Motors, at the Detroit Auto Show, Sept. 14, 2022. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to erase the Biden administration’s tailpipe rules designed to get carmakers to produce electric vehicles, but most U.S. automakers want to keep them. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
48 minutes ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

52 minutes ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

1 hour ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at First Horizon Coliseum, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Greensboro, NC. (AP/Alex Brandon)
2 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

2 hours ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

2 hours ago

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

2 hours ago

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend