Criminal justice reform activists and family members of people who have died in San Diego County Sheriff’s Department custody gathered outside the department on Wednesday to call on Sheriff Kelly Martinez to meet them and discuss their concerns and recommendations for reform.
The sheriff denied their request for a group meeting, opting for meetings with families instead.
In a statement to NBC7, a departmental representative said: “In sincerest consideration and respect for their loss, the sheriff would like to meet with the families individually. An intimate and compassionate setting will provide the bereaved with information, as well as enough time to answer their questions and listen to their feedback regarding jail operations.”
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The family members, however, said they don’t want to meet with the sheriff individually.
Sundee Weddle’s son, Saxon Rodriguez, died from a fentanyl overdose in San Diego County Sheriff’s Department’s custody on July 20, 2021, four days after he was detained and a day before his court appearance. She said family members want to meet Martinez in a survivors group meeting.
“Support and strength in numbers — we don’t want to get shut down," Weddle said. "We’re not even asking to speak specifically about our cases. I feel like that’s what they’re worried about."
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Saxon Rodriguez’s sister, Sabrina Weddle, said the family members also want the department to scan deputies and department staff for drugs and fentanyl when they enter the jails.
“The only people that are going inside the jails are the inmates and the deputies, and the only people that aren’t being scanned are the deputies,” Weddle said.
Martinez denied NBC 7’s request for an interview regarding this story and instead pointed to a progress report about the State of California’s scathing audit of the department that found it had not adequately prevented or responded to deaths in custody. In the report, the department said, among other changes it has implemented is its policies for jail staff to conduct safety checks on inmates every 60 minutes. Earlier this month, Martinez did respond to the Citizen’s Law Enforcement Review Board’s recommendation to scan jail staff, saying, “As far as our employees, we really aren’t seeing our employees bringing drugs into the jail, so until we tighten up a lot of other things and really can detect that our employees are the ones bringing drugs in, I'm not going to implement an employee search.”
The family members also want the department to add more surveillance cameras around the jail facilities and to make that video available to investigators and family members when an in-custody death occurs. They also want the department to enact a policy preventing deputies and staff from being part of or affiliated with white supremacist and extremist groups.
To see the full progress report from the sheriff’s department, click here.
To see our full interview with Martinez during her first week in office, click here.
