A Northern California Inmate’s death in custody has prompted a federal lawsuit, alleging that he lay unresponsive and largely unattended in his cell for at least three days before his demise.
Maurice Monk, aged 45, fell victim to what his family’s lawsuit describes as an “utterly callous and indifferent” response by law enforcement and medical staff at Santa Rita Jail. The lawsuit, amended on Tuesday, cites over 150 videos from Alameda County Sheriff’s deputy body cameras.
Monk was pronounced dead on November 15, 2021. The family’s civil action, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, names Alameda County, the entity responsible for operating the jail, Wellpath Community Care, the private healthcare contractor for Santa Rita Jail, and several individual deputies and facility employees as defendants.
While Monk’s death certificate attributed his passing to hypertensive cardiovascular disease, his family disputes this cause of death. Their attorney, Adanté Pointer, stated, “That’s not what killed Maurice Monk. It was the failure of the jail’s nurses and guards to ensure Maurice received his medications to treat his mental illness and chronic high blood pressure. They literally did nothing more than stare at him and throw food and medications into his cell like he was an animal in a pen at the zoo. Despite the obvious crisis, not a single guard or nurse thought enough about Mr. Monk to call for help.”
Monk’s initial incarceration followed an incident on a public bus in Oakland on October 11, 2021, during which he experienced a “mental health crisis,” refused to wear a mask, and engaged in an argument with the bus driver, as explained by his family. Although bail was set at $2,500, Monk’s family claimed they couldn’t afford it, resulting in his continued detention. Monk was discovered dead in his cell on November 15, 2021, but the lawsuit suggests that he likely passed away well before that date.
According to the lawsuit, jail staff and medical personnel visited Monk’s cell multiple times each day on November 12, 13, and 14. On each of these occasions, he was found face down in bed, unclothed from the waist down, and unresponsive to verbal commands.
Other claims within the lawsuit include:
Food provided to Monk remained untouched, prompting one jail employee to allegedly remark on November 12 that “He hasn’t been eating for a day and a half.”
On November 13, when a jail employee informed a deputy that Monk appeared soiled and immobile, the deputy allegedly responded, “I know he’s just peeing on himself. Come on, you know how it is. There are people just s—ing themselves.”
Monk’s condition remained unchanged on November 14, and an employee informed a deputy that he had been in the same state for “two days or so.” However, no action was taken by law enforcement at this time.
Deputies only intervened on November 15, when they entered Monk’s cell, attempted to assess his condition, and endeavored to detect a pulse. By that point, Monk was unresponsive and “stiff,” according to the lawsuit. Despite efforts to revive him, Monk remained unresponsive and was eventually pronounced dead.
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Representatives from Santa Rita Jail, Alameda County, and Wellpath, based in Nashville, Tennessee, have not yet responded to requests for comment as of Wednesday.
The lawsuit does not specify a dollar amount for damages sought by the plaintiffs, the estate, or Maurice Monk’s daughter and son.