conditions of confinement at the San Luis Obispo County Jail (the Jail), conducted under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), 42 U.S.C. § 1997, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. § 12132. We thank Jail leadership, administrators, and staff for accommodating our investigation and providing access to the Jail’s facilities, staff, documents, data, and prisoners. After carefully reviewing the evidence, we conclude that there is reasonable cause to believe that conditions at the San Luis Obispo County Jail violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Specifically, we have reasonable cause to believe that the Jail violates the constitutional and statutory rights of prisoners by its: (1) failure to provide constitutionally adequate medical care to prisoners; (2) failure to provide constitutionally adequate mental health care to prisoners; (3) use of prolonged restrictive housing under conditions that violate the constitutional rights of prisoners with serious mental illness; (4) failure to prevent, detect, or correct use of excessive force that violates the constitutional rights of prisoners; and (5) denial of equal access to prisoners with disabilities in violation of the ADA. We are obligated to advise you that 49 days after issuance of this letter and the enclosed Report of Investigation, the Attorney General may initiate a lawsuit under CRIPA to correct the alleged conditions we have identified if Jail officials have not satisfactorily addressed them. 42 U.S.C. § 1997b(a)(l). We hope, however, to resolve this matter through a more cooperative approach and look forward to working with the County to address the violations of law we have identified. The lawyers assigned to this investigation will therefore contact San Luis Obispo County Counsel to discuss options for resolving this matter amicably. Please also note that this letter and the Report of Investigation are public documents. They will be posted on the Civil Rights Division’s website. If you have any questions regarding this correspondence, please call Steven H. Rosenbaum, Chief of the Special Litigation Section, at (202) 616-3244 or Karen Ruckert, Chief, Civil Rights Section, Civil Division, at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California, at (213) 894-2879. Sincerely, /s/ Kristen Clarke Kristen Clarke Assistant Attorney General Civil Rights Division /s/ Tracy L. Wilkison Tracy L. Wilkison Acting United States Attorney cc: Rita L. Neal, Esq. San Luis Obispo County Counsel Encl: Report of Investigation of the San Luis Obispo County Jail 2 INVESTIGATION OF THE SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY JAIL (SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA) United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division United States Attorney’s Office Central District of California August 31, 2021
Same source, country, and finding where possible.