U.S. District Judge Anthony Battaglia has finally approved a sweeping settlement requiring the San Diego Sheriff’s Office to make major changes to jail conditions for people with disabilities. The case is Darryl Dunsmore et al. v. San Diego County Sheriff’s Department, et al.; S.D. Cal. No. 3:20-cv-00406-AJB-DDL.

In June 2023, the Sheriff’s Office and plaintiffs reached a partial ADA settlement agreement that focused on incarcerated persons with mobility disabilities at San Diego Central Jail, as well as incarcerated persons with hearing disabilities who use sign language at all county jails.

Between August 25, 2023, and November 20, 2024, the parties participated in seventeen settlement conferences with Magistrate Judge David D. Leshner including several all-day, in-person conferences.Moreover, in coming to agreement on the ADA Settlement terms, the parties exchanged numerous draft written proposals over six months. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved the ADA Settlement as to Plaintiffs’ third claim on December 11, 2024. On December 12, 2024, the parties filed the ADA Settlement Agreement as a joint motion. The final approved settlement agreement resolves the remainder of the ADA claims.

The Sheriff’s Office said it has taken significant steps to increase access for persons with disabilities in county jails. This includes the creation of a dedicated Sheriff’s ADA Unit, updating policies, procedures and training, construction renovations and acquiring assistive technologies such as video phones with video relay services or closed captioning.

The Sheriff’s Office also created a process for identifying and providing necessary accommodations to incarcerated persons with disabilities, including housing accommodations and effective communication.

In addition to specific construction modifications at the Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility, George Bailey Detention Facility, Vista Detention Facility, Rock Mountain Detention Facility and South Bay Detention Facility, some of the other changes that will be or have already been made include:

– – Informing incarcerated persons with disabilities of their ADA rights and providing effective communication during the booking and orientation process.
– – Revising policies and training as necessary to ensure compliance with the ADA and the terms of the settlement agreement.
– – Providing initial and annual ADA training to county jail staff and contractors.
– – Identifying and tracking incarcerated persons with disabilities who report and/or have been identified as requiring disability accommodations while in custody.
– – Ensuring that incarcerated persons with disabilities are properly placed in housing that is safe and appropriate for their disability.
– – Providing reasonable accommodations to ensure that qualified incarcerated persons with disabilities are able to participate in all programs, services and activities while in custody.
– – Practicing effective communication with incarcerated persons with disabilities.
– – Making sure that incarcerated persons with disabilities who require assistive devices, health care appliances, or durable medical equipment have access to these accommodations, subject to removal for individualized safety or security reasons.
– – Developing policies, procedures and training to ensure that incarcerated persons with disabilities are accommodated during evacuations and other emergencies in the jails.
– – Ensuring that incarcerated persons with intellectual, learning, and developmental disabilities are identified and provided appropriate accommodations, including adequate support.
– – Making sure that incarcerated persons with disabilities receive reasonable accommodations during searches, counts, application of restraint equipment and transport.
– – Providing reasonable accommodations to persons with mental health disabilities, including during the discipline process.
– – Developing a quality assurance and auditing program to ensure ADA compliance.

As part of the settlement agreement, the County of San Diego will hire neutral experts to ensure compliance with the agreement. The ADA Settlement Agreement does not involve monetary damages and none will be awarded. The ADA Settlement Agreement allows Plaintiffs’ counsel to ask the Court to have Defendants pay for their attorneys’ fees and costs in obtaining the ADA Settlement Agreement.

The Sheriff’s Office operates a system of seven detention facilities throughout San Diego County with a combined average daily population of approximately 4,000 incarcerated persons. According to the ACLU the San Diego County jails have the highest death rate of any large county in California. Well over 200 people have died in Sheriff department custody since 2006.

In 2018, Disability Rights California released a report highlighting the factors that contribute to the high suicide rate in San Diego County jails. These factors include over-incarceration of people with mental health needs, failure to provide adequate mental health treatment, overuse of solitary confinement, and lack of meaningful, independent jail oversight.In 2021, county jail deaths were largely attributable to suicide, overdoses, homicide and medical neglect – deaths that are often preventable with adequate policies, practices, training and supervision in place.

After a comprehensive audit by California State Auditor, it reported in February 2022 that “Given the ongoing risk to the safety of incarcerated individuals, the Sheriff’s Department’s inadequate response to deaths, and the lack of effective independent oversight, we believe that the Legislature must take action to ensure that the Sheriff’s Department implements meaningful changes. Until the Sheriff’s Department makes such changes, the weaknesses in its policies and practices will continue to jeopardize the health and lives of the individuals in its custody.”