Opinion: San Diego County jails must follow federal law in caring for inmates with disabilities

The editorial board operates independently from the U-T newsroom but holds itself to similar ethical standards. We base our editorials and endorsements on reporting, interviews and rigorous debate, and strive for accuracy, fairness and civility in our section. Disagree? Let us know.

For new proof the San Diego County Sheriff's Department is not taking its perilous jail conditions seriously enough, just look to how it responded to a new lawsuit filed by 15 people with disabilities who are seeking to upgrade county facilities so they comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

County lawyers denied the accusations and argued to dismiss the case, essentially saying nothing to see here. Their request was largely dismissed.

The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, widely known as the ADA, was built on the premise that the cost of accommodating people with disabilities must never be used to justify discriminating against them in jobs, schools, transportation and other aspects of public life. It was a plain, humane recognition that people with disabilities were people.

Thirty-three years later, there has been considerable progress on this issue. But it is far from uniform — and too many vulnerable people continue to suffer as a result. This was underscored by a Sunday report by Kelly Davis and Jeff McDonald of The San Diego Union-Tribune's Watchdog team on San Diego County jails. They detailed a legal motion seeking a preliminary injunction requiring Sheriff Kelly Martinez to bring detention facilities into compliance with federal law. In sworn testimony, 15 people said their problems with mobility or with communication with staff made it difficult to sleep comfortably or use bathrooms and showers, among other issues. At issue is their health care, safety, security and accommodations. The new filing notes that Sheriff's Capt. Kyle Bibel acknowledged in pre-trial questioning that the department "has had too many people who use wheelchairs for all of them to be housed in cells identified as 'accessible.'"

Martinez, a department veteran backed by a scandal-plagued outgoing sheriff, was elected last year in a campaign dominated by discussions about the 225-plus deaths in county jails since 2006. This case shows the challenges she faces are even bigger.

This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.

©2023 The San Diego Union-Tribune. Visit sandiegouniontribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.