Santa Clara Co. Releases Footage From Andrew Hogan Jail Incident

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — Santa Clara County released video Friday from an Aug. 2018 incident involving Andrew Hogan, a former sheriff’s inmate who suffered a traumatic brain injury while being transferred between jails as deputies were accused of failing to properly intervene.

The Board of Supervisors voted in August to publicly release body-camera footage from the incident as part of an inquiry into Sheriff Laurie Smith, who has faced calls to resign amid a slew of issues, including allegations of mismanagement of the county jail system.

Hogan, who was experiencing a mental health crisis while being transferred in a van by sheriff’s deputies, was left unable to care for himself after repeatedly hitting his head against the inside of the van. The county reached a $10 million settlement with Hogan’s family.

The videos, split into 36 clips, start with Hogan in distress in a jail cell, banging his head against the wall. He is then transferred to a waiting area, put into the back of a van and then repeatedly bashes his head against the inside of the van.

Watch the clips here (Warning: some footage may be disturbing to watch.)

Upon arriving at the sally port of the Main Jail, Hogan begs for water and medical attention, telling deputies that his “head is split open.”

“You’re not getting water right now,” a male deputy standing outside the van responds.

A female deputy arrives later and discusses a plan to wait for an ambulance to arrive, put Hogan on a gurney and restrain him.

“He can do all the damage he wants,” she says.

After the ambulance arrives, one deputy comments: “There’s a lot of blood in there.”

“He’s unresponsive but he’s breathing,” another says.

The Hogan incident was one of several involving mentally ill inmates that supervisors pointed to before issuing a vote of “no confidence” in Smith in August.

Since 2015, three inmates suffering from mental illness have either died or been seriously injured in county jails, which are overseen by the sheriff's office.

"We had one incident and it's a tragedy," said Supervisor Joe Simitian at an August board meeting. "You have a second and you can perhaps suggest that it's a coincidence. You have a third incident and you just have to acknowledge that there's a pattern that calls out for attention and action."

Smith has defied the calls to resign, instead claiming that the board has tasked the sheriff’s department with using the county jail as a “mental health hospital.”

“You tasked me with being your Band-Aid. Now you're placing blame, not taking responsibility,” Smith said in August. “Joe apparently needs to find a person to blame for inadequacies instead of addressing the real problem."

Read more:

• 'No Confidence' In Sheriff: Santa Clara County Supervisors
• Santa Clara Co. Sheriff Defies Calls To Resign, Defends Actions