S1: It's time for Midday Edition on KPBS. Today we're talking about the high rate of deaths in San Diego County jails and what's being done about it. I'm Jade Hindman. Here's to conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and make you think. Many of the deaths in San Diego County jails didn't have to happen.
S2: What we found in covering this issue over many years is a death that may be classified natural , is totally preventable with proper medical treatment.
S1: We'll talk about the number of reasons this has become a chronic problem , and then we'll talk to the families and activists calling for accountability. That's ahead on Midday Edition. Welcome in San Diego , it's Jade Hindman. On today's show , we're talking about the high rate of deaths in San Diego County jails. Why that is , and the accountability families and activists are fighting for. This is Midday Edition , connecting our communities through conversation. San Diego has one of the highest jail death rates in California in 2022. A state audit found the sheriff's department failed to adequately prevent deaths in its jails. We are five months into the year , and so far the department has reported five in-custody deaths , and over the years , the county taxpayers have paid millions in legal settlements and damages against the sheriff's department. Later this hour , we'll hear stories of two mothers who lost their son and daughter in the San Diego jails. But first , San Diego Union-Tribune investigative reporter Jeff McDonald has spent years covering this and joins us. Jeff , welcome.
S2: Hello , Jade. Thanks for having me.
S1: Glad you're here. So let's get the latest. Last week , a 38 year old man was found dead at the George Bailey Detention facility.
S2: The department practiced these days is to simply report the deaths and say that they're under investigation and that they , uh , regret that , uh , that the death happened. And they send their condolences to the family , specifically in this case , we know that he was found unresponsive in his cell and died shortly after lifesaving measures were undertaken that were obviously not successful.
S1: Well , while they haven't been giving many statements about this , I know lawyers are suing the sheriff's department and now demanding that Sheriff Kelly Martinez testify about jail conditions and practices. Tell me more about that.
S2: Well , that is a civil rights case that's unfolding in court now that , um , four years old , uh , it's been subsequently certified into a class action case. So these lawyers now represent every incarcerated person in jail , as well as future incarcerated people and past incarcerated people. So it's a pretty sweeping case. And what they're trying to do is impose reforms that would improve the health care practices inside the jails , also require improvements to facilities so that disabled people are provided equipment they need to subsist , for example , wheelchairs or walkers or hearing aids , things like that.
S1: Jeff , I mean , like this out for me.
S2: It's not the very highest per capita right now any longer , but it held that dubious position for many , many years under the prior sheriff. And it's still very high across the state's largest jail systems. The reasons for this are , uh , varied. But again , every county confronts , you know , difficult populations. These are people that don't generally have health care on the outside , so they come into custody. Maybe not in the best physical condition , certainly not in the best mental condition. But every county confronts those challenges. And , uh , San Diego somehow does worse than almost all of its counterparts across the state. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Well , for example , in 2022 , the state audit found 185 in-custody deaths between 2006 and 2020.
S2: You know , Sheriff Gore quit the day that state audit was released , which I think says a lot. The new sheriff , elected in 2022 , has pledged to do better , has initiated some reforms but resisted others. I find it incredibly interesting that she won't sit for a deposition in this current case , we were just chatting about because she's an elected official and she controls a $1.3 billion budget , not to mention the health and well-being of her staff and the community , she incarcerates. So , you know , there's a hearing , uh , later this month on the motion to compel her testimony. We'll see where that goes. But it is pretty curious that the sheriff's department leader would not sit for a deposition.
S1: Jeff , I'm curious if you can tell me what the sheriff's department has said up to this point. Have they pointed to any reforms ? Yes.
S2: And , you know , it's a difficult job. As I said , these , uh , these folks in jail who , by the way , the vast majority of which have not been convicted of any crime , uh , well , I should say the crime for which they're being held. Uh , most of these are pretrial holdings , people who can't afford bail , for example. But the sheriff says they've upgraded the facilities. Not only that , they have a half $1 billion plan to further upgrade the jails across the county. Uh , they're old , most of them. And they do need , uh , you know , better equipment , better designs , clearly better and more , uh , comprehensive health care and mental health care. Uh , they've taken steps along those directions , but , uh , their reforms to date have not resulted in fewer deaths. So that's , uh , problematic. They continue to get sued and lose in court , also cost the taxpayers millions of dollars in judgments and legal fees. And they've resisted some , uh , some other. Mutations from outsiders that are convinced would do better to keep drugs out of jail. For example , they won't require deputies to be screened for drugs as they enter , as they get to work , as they go into the jails to do their jobs. They've put forward a number of reasons why that's not practical , but those reasons haven't really held up to scrutiny. They said that , for example , continued exposure to radiation would be , you know , jeopardize the health of the deputies. And , you know , that's that's not true. I think it's just something the unions don't want to want to do. And the sheriff has capitulated to that.
S1: So you think it's the unions just not wanting to capitulate to this are if there's no harm in doing it. I mean , has the sheriff's department said anything more about why they won't do it ? You know , it's been proven that the exposure is really not that dangerous.
S2: They have other measures in place to screen to keep illegal drugs out of the jail. And they do. They have some they have drug sniffing dogs that they deploy , you know , from one facility to another at different times. It's not as consistent. And other counties do screen employees. Anyone who goes into the jail is screened for drugs in a number of counties across California and across the country. So it's clearly something that this sheriff is not willing to do. So there's that. They have greatly expanded the budget in in the years I've been reporting on this issue. They have many more health care positions , but just having the positions doesn't automatically translate to upgraded health care because they have difficulty filling these jobs. It's not a , um , you know , a thriving , vibrant place to work. It can be a dreary place with , uh , you know , not the best equipment and not the best conditions. So they don't always attract the best and brightest candidates. And they've had some positions languish open , unfilled for , uh , you know , months and longer. So that's also a challenge. She has taken some steps to try and do better. We haven't seen , uh , I think 20 deaths was the high watermark in 2022. And they've gone down since then. So it's not I don't want to excuse it because five this year and this is only May is quite a few. When we looked at , uh , a decade's worth of , uh , deaths for our series a few years ago , they averaged more than one a month over ten years. So that's quite a track record. And they haven't made a dent in that. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Well. Well , what are the primary causes of deaths ? And in San Diego County jails , uh , they.
S2: Have four classifications accidental natural homicide and suicide. The most common death is accidental and natural. But what we found in covering this issue over many years is a death that may be classified natural , is totally preventable with proper medical treatment , or an accidental death would be a drug overdose. And , uh , the Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board , the civilian oversight body of San Diego County's government , they've been urging the county to , uh , keep drugs out of jail by doing the body scanning. That's not happened. So they count drug overdoses ? Not as accidental. They count those as misconduct by sheriff's deputies because the sheriff's failed to keep drugs out of the jail. Uh , so that's an interesting development that's happened just in recent months. Natural deaths would be something like diabetes that's treatable on the , uh , on the outside pretty regularly and routinely or , uh , you know , a heart condition where you just require medication. So often inside the jails , you don't get the medication that you've worked out with your private sector doctor , maybe before you went into custody. So those are classified as natural deaths , when in fact there's nothing natural about a lot of those deaths. Right.
S1: Right. So what is the situation with the medical staff inside the jail ? And is it outsourced ? Yes.
S2: It's , uh , it's a challenging environment , clearly , but there's a cottage industry and correctional health care with a few big providers. National names. The county a couple of years ago turned to one called NAF care , which is based in Alabama. But they have a poor track record of delivering services effectively and , uh , and seamlessly. I wrote a story earlier this year about deficiencies that were identified internally by the sheriff's department. Those documents turned up in in a lawsuit. It wasn't as if the sheriff's department released them , but they identified a number of , uh , failures on the part of the health care contractor that , uh , you know , conditions in the contract that weren't being met and had , you know , serious adverse impacts to the men and women in custody. They issued corrective orders. They've done that a couple of times. The , uh , you know , the contractor says they're going to be doing a better job. And , uh , you know , we'll see how it goes. Uh , I should say that that company has been sued , uh , elsewhere across the country multiple times and , uh , and found liable for multiple damages. So , you know , it's a difficult job. It's a difficult industry. Uh , there aren't a lot of people that want to do it , because , as I say , you know , jails and prisons are difficult places. To work. At the same time when you take somebody's liberty and put them in jail. You're constitutionally required to feed them and clothe them and provide them , you know , medical attention. So it's just a it's just a difficult situation for for both sides.
S1:
S2: I can tell you that the medical examiner is supposed to operate as a independent check on the sheriff's department when it comes to investigating in-custody deaths. So that's good , because a lot of counties have the sheriff and the coroner as the same office. So it's one hand investigating the other , which is never a good practice. That said , the medical examiner's office does cater to the sheriff's department requests in terms of withholding information from the public until the sheriff's department completes its own internal investigations related to deaths that can be a big problem for the family members of deceased , uh , you know , loved ones who wait months or sometimes a year or longer to find out basic terms of what happened with the death of their loved one. They , uh , the medical examiner won't say anything because the sheriff's department has requested them to withhold information from the public , including family members , until internal sheriff's department investigations are done. So that leaves people in the dark for months and longer about what happened to their , you know , their father , their son , their husband , their brother , their sister , whomever. It's , uh , it's a difficult situation. So , uh , and they all are under the San Diego County government umbrella , so there's that as well. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. You know , one organization that sort of works as checks and balances here is the Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board. In March Paul Parker resigned from his role as executive officer of that board.
S2: Civilian oversight is a tried and true method of , you know , bringing , uh , independent monitoring to any law enforcement agency. Certainly the city of San Diego has had its challenges with its civilian oversight. That's difficult work also , because , you know , you have to dedicate a lot of volunteer time to it. Paul Parker was the executive officer , so he was paid to do it , and he would keep putting forward recommendations that would go months or longer without getting any response from the sheriff , who never once attended a club meeting. By the way , uh , much to the former executives , uh , dismay. He told me he just got tired of , uh , you know , fighting , uh , fighting the sheriff's department and frankly , the Board of Supervisors as well , uh , which has not done nearly enough to stop the deaths and the lawsuits that cost this county so dearly.
S1: And I know that right now the board is is voting on Paul's replacement.
S2: Deaths alone are not the big driver of legal legal costs. But I have looked at it. Uh , this county paid over the last five years , the five years between 2018 and 2023 , uh , 125 million plus in legal settlements. Now that comprises all county departments , uh , just over half of that is related to the sheriff's department. So more than $60 million over that five year period. The biggest judgments are for medical emergencies , medical treatment that , uh , did not result in a death but resulted in , you know , medical conditions that require lifetime care , people that suffered brain bleeds or other illnesses that are going to require , you know , basically 24 over seven homebound , uh , medical expertise. There have been a number of judgments and settlements in the uh , seven and eight figure range. I'm talking about , you know , from the low millions to the $10 million plus and those total for the sheriff's department. So that's , uh , you know , either deputy negligence , deputy misconduct or something like that. And those total more than 60 million over that five year period I looked at. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Well , Jeff , you've been covering this for a long time.
S2: And I think a big part of any effective government or any effective organization at large is accountability.
S1: I've been speaking with Jeff McDonald , investigative reporter with the San Diego Union-Tribune. Jeff , thank you so much for joining us.
S2: Thank you , Jade , I appreciate it.
S1: Coming up on the heels of Mother's Day. Two moms who lost their son and daughter while in custody are speaking out.
S3: I don't want Saxon to his death to have been in vain , and so I will continue to say his name. And even on Mother's Day , as hard as it is , I'm going to be strong.
S1: We'll hear about their activism when Midday Edition returns. Welcome back to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. You just heard from San Diego Union-Tribune investigative reporter Jeff McDonald about the high rate of deaths in San Diego County jails. Many impacted families say lack of communication from the sheriff's department after losing a loved one is a familiar frustration. They want to know what happened. They demand answers and accountability , but sometimes they don't get any of those things. And if they do , it can take years to hear about that experience. I sat down with two mothers who've gone through that loss and frustration. Paloma Serna is the mother of Elisa Serna. Elisa was 24 years old when she died in Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility in 2019. It was five days after she was booked into jail. She was five weeks pregnant at the time and in custody on a charge of petty theft when she started having drug withdrawals inside a jail cell that was supposed to be under medical supervision. The nurse on duty at the time , Dana Lee Pasqua , was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter earlier this year , and after a hung jury , prosecutors dismiss their case against Doctor Frederick von Lindbergh , the doctor on duty the day Elisa died. I also spoke with Sandi Weddle , the mother of Saxe and Rodriguez. Saxon died in custody at San Diego Central Jail after overdosing on fentanyl in 2021 , four days after his arrest. He was 22. I was also joined by Yusef Miller. He's executive director of the North County Equity and Justice Coalition , and they're Saving Lives in Custody campaign. I began by asking Yusef how he met Paloma and Sunday.
S4: Well , actually , when I started the Saving Lives in Custody campaign , I didn't know either one of them. But standing up for Elisa Serna after we saw the tragedy that happened in the newspaper , um , we came together and crossroads at the club meeting. And as the San Diego community is speaking up for Elisa Serna , someone who we never met , Paloma was listening in and she was really moved , and she asked around how to get in contact with me and our lawyer. Her lawyer put her in contact with me. And we've been besties ever since. And as this went on , you know , more families started joining our team. Unfortunately , from losing their lives in San Diego County. And then we met Sunday at the same way.
S1: Paloma , um , let's talk about your daughter , Elisa Serna. Many of our listeners have probably heard about her tragic death in 2019 , in San Diego County's Las Colinas Detention Center last month , which was four years after her death , thousands of pages of evidence and videos were finally released publicly.
S5: It really is. Um , but , you know , I felt some type of relief. Not a lot , but some type. Just because , you know , a lot of the time , you know , the public , they hear , they hear , you know , the sheriff's department side and they hear the grieving family , you know , and it's kind of like , hard to to determine what is truth without the public seeing the videos and reading exhibits. So it's kind of good to see , to know that the public was able to make their own mind up of , um , of who was wrong , because a lot of the time , you know , they see an individual that gets in trouble and they're incarcerated. And just with that , you know , they're ready , um , judge and looked wrongly. And so to see how the sheriff's department was actually the criminal in my eyes , in this case.
S1: Well , let me read the statement issued by Sheriff Kelly Martinez after those videos were released in April. She says the video and other evidence in this case is disturbing , and the actions of some staff on that day do not reflect the values of the sheriff's department. Since becoming sheriff last year , I've made some substantial changes in improving the conditions in our county's jails. Those changes are ongoing and I am committed to seeing them through use. If I mean in this statement , she says she's made substantial changes improving the conditions in the county jails.
S4: But before the audit , when we were screaming all these years before the. Audit. Nothing happened. Kelly Martinez was not the sheriff , but she was the undersheriff at that time. Where were those important changes when we were still going through that then ? So they. Her statement rings hollow to us , to myself and to most of the impact of families in our campaign. So although there has been changes made , I don't think they were , um , honest changes. They were changes forced by an outside upper entity. And it shouldn't be that way. We've been screaming these complaints for years. We should have made those changes for years , and people might not have been in the situation that they are now.
S1: Well , Sandy , I want to pull you in here. I also want to talk about your son , Saxon Rodriguez. He passed away in the Men's Central Jail in 2021.
S3: Like I had to do my own research to try and find out what were next steps. Luckily , I met Yusef and got some guidance , and I just felt like we're we're pretty much on our own , and it's best if we reach out to the families because you'll get more information that way. Um , people that have been through this. Uh , we were also assigned a liaison who didn't reach out or return calls for almost a year. That was problematic because they're supposed to be your front line of communication , um , between , you know , the families and the sheriff , and they were non-existent. We're actually on our third liaison at this point in time. Um , but it it did take , uh , two years to really try and get any kind of answers.
S1:
S3: Oh , we're reaching out to the families. We're here. We're doing something. Um , but we had to really call them , bug them , email them. So , um , my daughter , Sabrina , Isaacson's big sister , she was relentless. And she pressed the issue with our first liaison to the point where he actually finally to get her kind of to quiet down , center the investigation report once it was completed. I mean , it did take some time , and we were very thankful for that because it did have a lot of the information that we needed , not all the information , but , um , if you have the time for that , I mean , I don't think things like this should drag out years. Maybe , maybe their hope is that we'll just get tired and kind of go away. But I think with this group we are. Strength in numbers and we're not really going to go away or we're not. We're not going to quiet down.
S1: And I know that Saxon and Elisa struggled with addiction.
S3: When the detectives came to my house to tell me that Saxon was dead , they started asking me questions about Saxon and I didn't quite understand what was happening. I mean , I was in shock , but they were actually using that opportunity to , I guess , ascertain more information about sex and that could be used against him. And as it was explained to me by civil rights attorneys , um , that's what they do. They come out , you and your weakest and try and get information to use against your your family member. And I , I was completely appalled. I think that tactic is just brutal for our family. We are going through enough and I was already having problems before that , just trying to save Saxon and just trying to be a good a good parent to him. And the fact that they were coming at me after his death to get more information about him , it just makes me sick.
S1:
S5: And so that , you know , led me to believe that she took the drugs and overdose in which it was false , as we know now. But , um , the story changed , you know , um , there was different times that , you know , it went from her Elisa overdosing to. Um , the nurse and deputy checking on Elisa. She was laying on the bed , her leaning against the wall. Eyes closed. They were taking her vitals. She was asked , are you okay ? How are you doing ? She gave the thumbs up and then it went into where ? The club. Meeting. I found out that she died on the floor. And then with the video evidence , we actually saw how it was even more to that to where it led her down on the floor.
S1: Well , I mean , you know , we're having this conversation a day after Mother's Day. Um , Paloma , what are your feelings around days like this spent without your daughter Elisa ? Well.
S5: It's awful. I mean.
S1:
S3:
S5: Celebrated.
S6: Celebrated. I had a child.
S1: Sunday. Is that experience shared by you ? Definitely.
S3: The first Mother's Day after Saxon died was. One of the hardest. I thought that all the holidays and birthdays and anniversaries would be hard , but Mother's Day was. The most painful. I've done better. The last Mother's day. Um. I don't look forward to it. But I do have other children living children. My mom is still here , so I. I just have to push through and I can I can be part of the other impacted families , um , because they share in my sorrow and pain of having lost a loved one , a child. It is difficult. I'm glad I , I have Paloma by my side , though. I feel a lot stronger with her and definitely with Yusef. Um , to get through this , because I don't want sex into his death to have been in vain , and so I. Will continue to say his name. And even on Mother's Day , as hard as it is , I'm going to be strong and. I'm going to remember him and get through it. And I'm going to think of the day that I held him in my arms for the first time. And and I'm going to remember what a great young man he was , what a great son he was. And I'm going to get through it.
S1: Still ahead , we'll talk more about what's causing so many deaths in San Diego County jails.
S4: To criminalize addiction is the opposite of what a person in addiction needs , and especially in such a poorest institution , they're coming closer to drugs in these incarcerated systems.
S1: You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. Welcome back to KPBS midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. We continue our discussion on In-custody deaths in San Diego County and the emotional toll on mothers like Paloma Serna and Sandy Whittle , and how they're channeling grief into advocacy. Also with me is Yusuf Miller , executive director of the North County Equity and Justice Coalition , and they're Saving Lives in Custody campaign. Yusef , I want to talk about the creation of the Saving Lives in Custody campaign. Tell me about the campaign and what you've accomplished so far.
S4: Well , the campaign was designed to be a voice for the voiceless in the high in-custody death rate that we have in San Diego County. And. A collateral issue that came up was a family being developed. A family developed out of. Paloma Serna Sunday. Well , um , A.C. Mills , uh , Tammy Wilson , so many people , we become family to rely on one another. This formation is actually a resource for these families to come together and talk with one another. And it's very therapeutic , very cathartic. I have not lost a loved one in custody. I'm doing this because it's the right thing to do. But when I see what unfolds from it , the Paloma siRNAs of the world and the Sunday Widows of the world have really inspired me to keep going. There are human beings involved in these losses , maybe to the county. There are number one , death number two death , number five death. But those people had names. Those people have families who would expect them home , who would hope their lives would turn around. And they were denied the opportunity to turn around by the neglect in our custody jails. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. Some of the the work that you're doing addresses the systemic deficiencies in jail. Talk to me a bit about that.
S4: We don't believe that they have a culture of really care and empathy and compassion in the jails. That culture has been dulled and it's been , uh , shrunk into , um , into a place where people are dying from this impact , the families that had medical neglect , not receiving proper medication , timely medication , not being classified for mental health conditions , not being watched , um , on the on the period that they're supposed to be reviewing the in custody person to make sure that they're healthy , these things come with compassion. You have to look at a person who's who's suicidal and say that that's someone's loved one. I have to check on them every hour or every 15 minutes , whatever is required. And I have to do it on time because at the end of that hour , if I haven't done any , done anything. That results in someone loss of life. And this is what we're trying to avoid in the medical aspect and the mental health aspect. You take these two areas together. They're a compassion area , and I don't think law enforcement is designed to be compassionate. They're designed to deal with infractions of the law. They're designed to incarcerate people. But we need people who love this profession to make sure that once they're incarcerated , that they're still treated like human beings. They're not violated by the federal or state constitution of California , which requires proper medical care. It requires proper mental health care , proper meals , proper hygiene. All of these things are required by our Constitution that talks about title 15 , which talks about In-custody personnel and how to treat them in their rights in our state.
S1:
S5: You know , our loved ones. Um , they're ready , um , putting in the public and in their families. The victims families mind that it was their fault. You know , our loved ones. Um , so they need to stop lying. Number one to , um , they it's , um , not withholding information from us like they did. Um , like , within the first week , the sheriff's department will seal the case. So we don't have. We can't speak to the medical examiner. Um , they won't speak to us. About what ? How's the investigations going on ? And so they need to not do that. And then thirdly , you know , turn over evidence. You know , it would be nice to see the San Diego sheriff , whoever is in office , if it was Bill Gore still or Kelly Martinez or anybody else , you know , they need to be there for us. They can't just withhold any type of information , blame us , blame , um , their addiction or whatever. Put them in the jail. You know , they need to , you know , be transparent about that and realize these are human beings. And if their employees. You know , I don't want to use a word. Made a mistake. But if they failed. In monitoring , you know , monitoring them , um , giving our , um , inmates , you know , their the proper medical treatment. You know , if they held them accountable , that would be great , but they don't.
S1:
S4: But I would like to say , since we've passed this , this Mother's Day emotional Mother's Day weekend , and the inspiration that I get from these mothers that are with us today , that. Law enforcement needs to be mothered. They need someone watching over them. They need someone to hold them accountable. They need someone to make them transparent. Because in your job , you have to be transparent and accountable for everything you do. So do doctors. Doctors have to be transparent and accountable for everything they do. So does nurses. But there's no transparency in our law enforcement. This is absolutely bizarre. While they work , walk around the community , they're armed , they're engaged in the community , and there's no accountability. This to us seems like they are a super citizen , a citizen , be above citizens. And that transparency keeps their inner workings blind to the rest of the community. Transparency and accountability is the key to fixing any system , but this is the system that law enforcement is rejecting.
S1: I want to get back to your children here. So , Paloma , tell me more about Elisa. How do you remember her ? How do you honor her life ? Well.
S6:
S5: Elisa , she's she was a very. She was the oldest of , um , five children. And so , um , she was a very smart child , um , person , you know , but she was shy. You know , that's the thing. You know , I believe that , you know , she started experimenting. Experimenting with drugs to kind of break her out of that shyness and make her extrovert. You know , I could go on with all everything that's great about her. I mean , she's like a second mother , you know , to her siblings. You know , we honor her by fighting for her. We I refuse to let the San Diego sheriff in the county to treat her like trash thrown in a gutter. We honor her. She has an eight year old daughter now. And when Elisa passed , she was three and a half. So I honor Elisa by raising her child. The best way that I know Elisa would have. You know , her daughter was robbed from ever knowing if her mom would have got clean , if she were given the opportunity. And which is time. How much time would Elisa have needed ? I don't know , but she had her family there that was waiting patiently. Was it frustrating ? Waiting patiently ? Of course. You know , it was scary because you never know what could happen. But , um. You know , we honor her consistently every day. Every time I look at her daughter. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Sandy.
S3: Saxon is one of four. I have four kids and he was definitely my wild child. He always had jokes , made us laugh so much. Um. And as a single mom , he was my first born son , so he was pretty much the man of the house. Um , he always had his younger brother , Seth , under his wing. They would go and do , play sports , skateboard. He had so many friends. He was very social , outgoing , kind. He looked out for people. Unfortunately , I mean , as he got into his teen years , I worked many long hours. And Saxon , probably like Alisa , uh , got hooked up with the wrong with the wrong crowd at times and made some some bad choices. And I don't think that he I don't think that he knew what he was getting into with his drug addiction , but that doesn't define him. And that's not that's not the Saxon that I remember. I remember him being kind , loving , funny. And I miss him. I miss him every day. And I fear that. As I get older , I'll start to forget his voice and. And his hugs. And I'm just going to continue to honor him. I'm going to show up. I'm going to say his name. I'm going to get justice not just for him , but for others. I'm going to be his voice because he will not be silenced. And I do miss my son so much. He is missed and loved.
S1: I so appreciate you all sharing the humanity of your children , because I feel like that's often missing from these conversations. And Yusef , when we're talking about treating addiction as , um , a public safety issue , I think their story underscores the fault in that.
S4: Yes , to criminalize addiction is the opposite of what a person in addiction needs , and especially in such a poorest institution , meaning that all these drugs are flowing into the jails. They're not getting away from jails , uh , drugs. They're coming closer to drugs. In these incarcerated systems , the overall overpolicing of mental health is the opposite of what mental health folks need. So these institutions outside of jail should be strengthened and reinforced to give people an opportunity. It is more it is far easier to get arrested than it is to get help with drugs. It's far easier to get arrested than to get an appointment for mental health in regular appointments with mental health. This is the problem with the system. Our culture of overpolicing is causing the losses that we're seeing today.
S3: What you have said. It is so challenging to get an appointment to see a counselor , a psychiatrist. When I discovered that Saxon was that he had been arrested and was in jail , I actually had a sigh of relief thinking , oh my goodness , I can sleep tonight knowing that my son is in a safe place with ample resources to help him with his drug addiction. You know , he had court the next day , and I had every intention of showing up and asking the judge , can can we please get Saxon into drug court and get him some help for what he's going through ? I really did think I was so naive to think that he was in a safe place , and that I was going to see him again , and that that we would get through that situation , um , that he would come out a better person. Um , you know , it wasn't. It wasn't a safe place. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Paloma , I'll give you the last word here.
S5: Well , I totally agree with Sunday. You know , when I first initially got the call that she had passed , um , because my fear was always to , you know , to find out that she had overdosed behind an abandoned house. Something , you know , filthy , maybe. And so when I got the call that she had passed in the jail , it broke my heart. But I thought at least she was there somewhere , you know ? Safe. But with the truth. Now. With the videos. That's what happened in the jail. She was abandoned. Left on the floor. It's the worst place. Worst place for anyone to be at ? Really is.
S1: That was a conversation with Paloma Serna , the mother of Elisa Serna , and also Sandi Weddle , the mother of Saxon Rodriguez. Also joining us was Yusuf Miller , executive director of the North County Equity and Justice Coalition. And they're Saving Lives in Custody campaign. We invited Sheriff Kelly Martinez to join us for today's program , but she did not respond to our invitation or questions before our deadline. The sheriff's department did email us a statement during the original broadcast of this program. It lists changes made to their facilities. You can find that statement on our website at KPBS. Org. That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
