An Open Letter to Congressman Swalwell

As people of faith, we were shocked to see that Congressman endorsed Sheriff Ahern. We attended a vigil at the Board of Supervisors on May 24th whose purpose was to commemorate the 58 people that have died in Alameda County Jail since 2014. That is a greater proportion of deaths per capita than anywhere else in California including Los Angeles. 21 of those deaths were suicides! At the vigil clergy from both the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths read the names of the 58+ people that have died in our county jail since 2014. Many of those deaths could have been avoided. Even with millions of our taxpayer dollars for extra deputies, Sheriff Ahern has shown that he is not capable of keeping people safe in his jail. We call on you to publically withdraw your endorsement of Sheriff Ahern. He has created a culture of dehumanization at our county jail as evidenced by legal suits from both the Department of Justice and a class action settlement that charged the Sheriff’s Department with inadequate mental health treatment, inadequate suicide prevention, and the overuse of isolation especially for persons with mental health disabilities. The public is not made any safer when people are treated inhumanely at our county jail.

–Bob Britton, Castro Valley