Inmate Assaults

This letter is in regard to an article in the May 8 edition titled “Inmate Claims of Assaults by Deputies Rise,” discussing the increasing number of alleged assaults by deputies on prisoners in San Diego County jails. The article neglects to mention the effect these assaults have on the general population.

These claims of unprovoked beatings undermine the public’s faith in law enforcement officers. When police officers turn against the public, who does it go to for protection? In the instances alleged to have occurred in San Diego County jails, are we supposed to turn to the Sheriff’s Department for help? After submitting the complaint to the claims office, it is forwarded to a sheriff’s internal affairs unit. It comes as no surprise that this unit “does not always interview the inmate” and “rarely concludes that the claim is justified.”

The Sheriff Department’s lack of perspective is evident in the comments of its official spokesman, Bob Takeshta. He stated that 54 inmate allegations of abuse are insignificant compared to the number of inmates booked into the jails each month. Is he implying that only 54 violent outbursts by deputies is an “impressively small number?” In my opinion, the occurrence of only one such assault should command a thorough investigation by an objective party.

It is time the members of the Sheriff’s Department and the county’s jail system remember who they are supposed to be serving. If the law enforcers can’t abide by the laws, who do they expect to do so?

SELENA SHADLE

Vista