OAKLAND, Calif. — Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones-Dickson announced Thursday that her office has dropped criminal charges against six county deputies and two medical clinicians in connection with the 2021 death of Maurice Monk at Santa Rita Jail, narrowing the prosecutions to three deputies who will still face trial.
Monk, 45, died on Nov. 15, 2021, after lying face down and unresponsive in his cell for at least three days before anyone entered to check on him. His death has since become a symbol of neglect and indifference inside Santa Rita Jail, drawing national outrage and placing a spotlight on both the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office and Wellpath, the private health care company contracted to provide medical services at the jail.
The family of Monk, represented by civil rights attorney Adanté Pointer, issued a statement expressing disappointment in the DA’s decision. “The family of Maurice Monk is disappointed in this decision. It has been nearly four years since Mr. Monk’s deteriorating medical condition was ignored, causing his death, when all that the guards and the jail’s medical contractors needed to do was their jobs, and to consider Mr. Monk as someone whose life was valuable,” the family said…