OAKLAND, Calif. — In a significant legal development, a district attorney from the San Francisco Bay Area who was recently recalled in a November 5 election has initiated criminal charges against several current and former staff members at a county jail. These charges are linked to the in-custody death of a man who was reportedly left without proper care in his cell for several days in 2021.

On Thursday, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price disclosed that felony dependent adult abuse charges have been brought against a total of 11 individuals, which include seven active sheriff’s deputies, two former deputies, and two medical personnel associated with Santa Rita Jail. Each defendant could face a maximum sentence of up to four years in state prison if found guilty.

Additionally, three of these defendants are facing charges for allegedly falsifying documentation in connection with the death of Maurice Monk, a 45-year-old man who was discovered unresponsive in his cell in November 2021 after having spent a month in custody.

Pamela Price was elected in 2022, promoting a progressive agenda that emphasized accountability for corrections officials surrounding in-custody fatalities. However, after being removed from office by voters in an unusual recall election, it remains unclear if her successor will carry on with these criminal charges.

Maurice Monk’s arrest in October was due to accusations of disorderly conduct, which included his refusal to vacate a transit bus. He later found himself in jail after not appearing for a bench warrant related to a previous misdemeanor offense on a bus line, according to the district attorney’s office.

A lawsuit brought by Monk’s family noted that body camera footage from the jail’s deputies displayed that both the deputies and nursing staff merely dropped food and medication into Monk’s cell while he lay unresponsive for three consecutive days. This incident led to the county settling with the family for $7 million last year.