9 deputies and 2 medical workers charged in Oakland man's death at Santa Rita Jail

OAKLAND, Calif. – The outgoing Alameda County district attorney on Tuesday charged nine sheriff's deputies and two medical workers in the death of an Oakland man who languished in his Santa Rita jail cell for days before anyone realized he was no longer alive.

Court records show that all deputies and medical staff were charged with criminal abuse and neglect of adults, and three of the 11 people were also charged with forgery, also a felony.

Deputies Donall Chauncy Rowe, Thomas Mowrer, Ross Burruel, Robinderpal Singh Hayer, Andre Gaston, Troy Hershel White, Syear Osmani, Mateusz Laszuk and Christopher Haendel, as well as Wellpath nurse David Everett Donoho and Forensic Behavioral Health Dr. Neal Edwards of Alameda County were all charged with dependent adult abuse and neglect.

Hayer, White and Osmani were also charged with forgery.

The charges stem from the death of Maurice Monk on November 15, 2021.

KTVU first reported the circumstances of Monk's death after obtaining exclusive prison body camera video that shows no one physically examined the 45-year-old man lying half-naked on his bunk for at least three, possibly four days.

And when officers finally found Monk's body, stacks of trays filled with uneaten food and pills lay strewn on the floor, next to an oblong puddle of urine at the foot of his bed.

Last year, Monk's daughter and son won $7 million – an unprecedented sum from the sheriff's office.

The sheriff's office did not immediately respond to comment Tuesday. Wellpath, the company that provides medical care to the prison, declined to comment.

Over the weekend, however, Sgt. Roberto Morales indicated that the deputies would be placed on leave once their identities were revealed.

Prosecutor Pamela Price told the sheriff Friday that seven unnamed officers, not nine, would be charged.

Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez told KTVU in an email Saturday that she was “deeply disappointed in District Attorney Price’s decision to file charges as I do not believe they are warranted. I will continue to support our employees throughout this challenging process.”

Monk's sister, Elvira Monk of Oakland, was happy about the news.

She said her brother's death was never about money.

“As long as they are charged and have to fight to keep their job, that’s all I wanted,” she said.

Monk's other sister, Tiffany, shared similar sentiments.

“It's about a person's life being taken. My niece and nephew no longer have their father,” said Tiffany Monk. “He just had a grandchild that he will never meet. All because someone didn't do their job properly. But still.” [the officers are] Still works, I get a check. Why?”

Ty Clarke, who co-represented the Monk family in their civil case, said he was glad criminal charges had been filed.

However, he stressed that he wanted “this case to be heard fully so that the terrible things that happened to Mr Monk can be brought to light”.

The date of the indictment is three days before the statute of limitations expires, as Friday marks the three-year anniversary of Monk's death.

The timing of the charges also came a week after Price was ousted from her post in a historic attempt to recall her.

It is currently unknown whether her successor will move forward with the case.

Price used a progressive platform to stop over-criminalizing black and brown youth and men and to hold police accountable for their actions.

It's not the first time she's blamed law enforcement in her short time in office.

Most recently, Price charged three Alameda police officers with manslaughter in connection with the 2021 death of Mario Gonzalez.

But prosecutors missed a filing deadline and last month two of the officers' cases were dismissed; Charges are still being filed against a third officer.

It's been a long journey for Monk's family, who said he never should have been in prison in the first place.

The occasional security guard and former Castlemont High and Sac State football player was sent to prison in October 2021 after getting into a verbal argument with an AC Transit bus driver for not wearing his mask during the pandemic several months earlier. Monk suffers from schizoaffective disorder.

Elvira Monk had repeatedly tried to bring her brother his medication, but was refused for bureaucratic reasons.

When officers finally opened the door to Monk's cell and entered, they discovered that he had been lying motionless on his bunk for so long that the red “Alameda County” print on the front of his prison-issued T-shirt had stained his chest According to an internal sheriff's report, he mixed with fluids that had leaked from his body.

After a month in the Santa Rita prison, Monk was officially declared dead because he suffered from hypertensive cardiovascular disease.

But deputies' accounts and a review of more than 150 body camera videos obtained as part of a civil lawsuit show that Monk was likely dead or dying several days earlier.

Clarke, civil rights attorney Adante Pointer and staff at Lawyers for the People pored over body camera videos for months to try to figure out what happened.

What their efforts showed was that officers and medical staff were seen throwing food and pills in through the slats of Monk's cell door, but they did not enter the room to physically see why Monk was not eating or drinking.

And while the coroner ruled he died of natural causes, Monk's case underscores what so many advocates have been saying for years: People incarcerated at Santa Rita Prison are not being provided adequate medical care.

As part of the civil lawsuit, the sheriff vowed to make changes at the Santa Rita Jail, including implementing more meaningful welfare checks and providing officers with electronic key cards to curb falsification of log checks.

KTVU reporter Jana Katsuyama contributed to this report.

Lisa Fernandez is a reporter for KTVU. Email Lisa at [email protected] or call her at 510-874-0139. Or follow her on Twitter @ljfernandez