Kqeds Forum

Longtime Santa Clara Sheriff Laurie Smith is facing calls to step down from the County Board of Supervisors and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo for her handling of the county jail and its treatment of mentally ill inmates. In 2015, three Santa Clara County correctional officers beat a mentally ill man to death in a jail cell. In 2018, another group of county officers failed to intervene when 24-year-old Andrew Hogan suffered a traumatic brain injury while experiencing a severe psychiatric crisis. We discuss concerns about Smith’s leadership and how the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department treats mentally ill people in and out of jail.