SLO County to pay disabled former jail inmate $175,000 after DOJ investigation
The U.S. Department of Justice reached a settlement with San Luis Obispo County after a disabled inmate filed a complaint under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the federal agency announced Thursday.
The Justice Department said in a news release that the settlement will ensure that inmates with mobility disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate in San Luis Obispo County Jail’s programs, services and activities.
The DOJ says it opened its investigation after receiving a complaint by a former jail inmate who has a mobility disability and uses a prosthetic leg. The news release does not say when the complaint was filed.
The inmate alleged that the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office failed to provide him with an accessible cell or shower, causing him to repeatedly fall and, in one instance, break his leg.
The complainant also alleged that, because of his disability, jail staff denied him equal opportunities for recreation and other programs, leading him to experience unnecessary isolation.
Following its investigation, the federal government determined that County Jail facilities were inaccessible to inmates with mobility disabilities and that staff were denying those inmates equal access to the jail’s programs, services and activities.
The DOJ said that the county “fully cooperated with the investigation and indicated a commitment to remedying barriers to equal access.”
“People with mobility disabilities are entitled to have access to cells and showers they can safely use while incarcerated,” acting U.S. Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison said in the release. “San Luis Obispo County has taken important steps to ensure that the facilities at its jail are in compliance with the ADA.”
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the DOJ’s civil rights division also commended San Luis Obispo County “for recognizing its obligations and working with the Department of Justice to bring the facilities at its jail into compliance with the law.”
In its own news release Thursday, the Sheriff’s Office said that “many of the improvements listed in the agreement have already been made to the jail or are in the process.”
”The Sheriff’s Office worked cooperatively with the Department of Justice to determine improvements needed to make sure our jail facility is accessible to all people,” Sheriff Ian Parkinson wrote in the release. “We are pleased with our results so far with our goal to be in full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
Under the ADA, governmental entities that operate jails or prisons must make changes necessary to ensure that inmates with mobility disabilities do not serve time in a manner that is more difficult, or less safe, than those without disabilities.
Under the agreement with the DOJ, the San Luis Obispo County Jail will make architectural changes to its facilities to ensure that they are accessible to inmates with disabilities.
The jail will also conduct staff training, designate an ADA coordinator and implement an ADA complaint procedure.
The county will also pay $175,000 to the complainant to compensate him for his pain and suffering.
The DOJ investigation into ADA acccessibility at the San Luis Obispo County Jail was separate from the federal civil rights investigation into the jail initiated in late 2018 following a series of high-profile inmate deaths there.
A DOJ spokesman on Thursday declined to comment on the status of that investigation, or even whether it remains ongoing.
This story was originally published June 24, 2021 at 12:10 PM.
