Alameda County Sheriff's Office

Many Alameda County civil rights organizations and advocates are “enraged” by the inaction within the ACSO regarding a history of alleged abuse, mistreatment and death at Santa Rita Jail.

Alameda County district attorney Pamela Price released a policy Wednesday directing her deputies to reduce charges to the minimum sentence and remove sentencing enhancements.

People’s Park activist and UC Berkeley alumnus Nick Alexander was arrested Aug. 18 on suspicion of vandalism, assault and battery on a peace officer, but was released one day later from the Santa Rita County Jail, as first reported by Berkeleyside.

Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín cancelled City Council's special meeting scheduled for Thursday night to address police use of tear gas.

Jose Piña Cardenas, 30, was pronounced dead on June 7, only three weeks after being taken into custody at Santa Rita County Jail. 

Leonard Brown, an inmate at Santa Rita Jail, died March 15 at a Pleasanton hospital — one week after attempting suicide in his cell.

U.S. Magistrate Nathanael Cousins approved a consent decree that went into effect Monday, placing Santa Rita Jail under external oversight, ending a 2018 lawsuit that alleged mental health abuse in the jail.

Community organizations representing incarcerated people in Babu v. County of Alameda held a press conference Wednesday to discuss objections to a proposed settlement.

The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office has not transferred any people to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in 2021, according to a spokesperson from the office, but the sheriff is continuing to collaborate with the immigration agency in certain cases.

COVID-19 cases surged at Santa Rita Jail, according to Sgt. Ray Kelly, a spokesperson for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.