The Santa Barbara County grand jury released a report on June 29 about its investigation into Alexander Ricardo Braid’s suicide while in a Santa Barbara County Jail cell last year.
In its report, the grand jury lists nine findings and recommendations, most of which were related to jail personnel’s inability to spot Braid’s history with mental illness and potential to commit suicide.
According to the report, a family member who was at the house where Braid was arrested for acting aggressively toward another person told the jury about Braid’s past mental health problems. However, deputies didn’t interview this witness when Braid was arrested on July 5, 2018.
“One witness who was at the scene of [Braid’s] arrest disclosed to the jury information about [Braid] that the jury believes might have helped avoid [his] death if Sheriff’s deputies or medical personnel had obtained it,” the report states.
Following his arrest, Braid began violently bashing his head on the car’s interior, creating contusions on his forehead. The deputy driving Braid radioed in to the jail to inform personnel that Braid was “combative,” rather than take Braid to a mental health facility, which state code allows peace officers to do if officers determine a person has a mental health disorder that makes him a danger to himself or others. According to the report, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office policy states that a mental heath professional must perform an evaluation before the peace officer can take a person to a mental health facility.
In its report, the jury states that after Braid arrived at the jail, personnel didn’t thoroughly check his mental health or arrest history, which would have shown that Braid talked about suicide when he was previously arrested in 2015.
After deputies booked Braid, he was escorted to his cell and given new clothes, including a t-shirt and beltless pants. Shortly after, out of camera view, Braid made a noose with the t-shirt, tied it to bars above an elevated sleeping area, and hung himself.
“Despite [Braid’s] prior arrest record … and his repeated self-harming behaviors while seated in the patrol car … none of the patrol or custody deputies, or … nursing staff, recognized that [Braid] potentially was suicidal,” the report states.
In its report, the jury also raises concerns about how jail personnel responded after a deputy found Braid hanging in his cell.
According to the report, about 16 people responded to the call, but nobody seemed to take charge and many people were left standing around watching. Additionally, personnel weren’t able to use emergency resuscitation equipment, such as an apparatus to clear an airway because it didn’t work properly.
According to the report, the point of the grand jury’s investigation isn’t to speculate on whether Braid’s death could have been avoided, but rather to make recommendations to improve local government operations. However, the Sheriff’s Office declined to provide the jury with information it needed, which made it more difficult for the grand jury to complete its investigation.
“The jury regrets that, for the most part, the Sheriff’s Office seemed more interested in obstructing than working cooperatively with the jury toward [its goal of improving local government operations],” the report states.
The Sheriff’s Office has 60 days to respond to the jury’s findings.
This article appears in Jul 4-11, 2019.