Civil rights activists blast coronavirus outbreaks at Santa Rita Jail

The activists are demanding a state takeover of the jail, better testing and medical care, and the release of more eligible inmates, among other demands. 

Attorneys concerned Santa Rita Jail's population near pre-COVID levels

Civil rights lawyers fear the virus will spread through Santa Rita Jail, which as of this week, held 2,224 people, reflecting a nearly 24% increase in May.

Alameda County to pay $5M to Fremont family of young man chained to Santa Rita Jail door

Christian Madrigal's parents have been grieving since he died last June after they called 911 to get him mental help after he experienced some sort of psychotic break after experimenting with mushrooms about two weeks prior. 

Public defender encourages incarcerated people at Santa Rita to  vote

The videos were produced by the Public Defender’s V.O.I.C.E. project. They describe who is eligible to vote and provide instructions for how to vote from jail.

Father blames son's fatal drug overdose on Santa Rita jail guards' negligence

Jonah Andrews was one of two people who died in Santa Rita this year, a marked drop from prior years. Since 2014, 47 inmates have died while in custody at Santa Rita, which has the highest-jail death rate in the Bay Area, according to an analysis by KTVU. 

Lieutenant admits he made 'epic mistake' for chaining 20-year-old to Santa Rita Jail door

These newly released Internal Affairs documents provide the first glimpse into how 10 deputies, sergeants and captains viewed the chain of events that transpired that day. It is also the first time that Lt. Craig Cedergren’s thoughts and actions that day have been made public.

Spot check of Santa Rita Jail shows clean facility, but also reveals myriad of COVID-19 problems

The 13-page assessment written by Mike Brady of Sabot Consulting on July 7, also reveals a myriad of other problems at the jail, including the fact that 30% of newly incarcerated inmates refuse to take COVID-19 tests, but are then allowed to remain in the same group with inmates whose tests came back negative.  

Santa Rita jail says only 22 inmates now positive for coronavirus

This is a huge drop from the jail's peak of 104 positive cases at the end of last week, which attorneys for the county revealed occurred earlier in early July in the kitchen. 

Santa Rita Jail COVID-19 cases soar past 100; judge notes urgent situation

The cases include 41 inmates in unit 25, where the kitchen and laundry workers live, and 56 inmates from unit 22, which is maximum security. 

'Deeply concerning:' 40 Santa Rita Jail inmates test positive for coronavirus

"This would certainly be one of the highest number of cases that I think we've seen at once," attorney Kara Janssen said. "This is deeply concerning. It just goes to show the need for constant vigilance on this. There is not a minute you can let up." 

Alameda County sheriff ousts lieutenant who authorized chaining Fremont man to jail door

The sheriff had wanted to fire Lt. Craig Cedergren immediately after the IA case was concluded but had to wait for the proper process, which is called a Skelly hearing, to play out