Demonstrators outside Rancho Cucamonga jail demand justice for family members who died in custody

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. (KABC) -- Outside the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, a small gathering of protestors held signs with photos of their loved ones who died while in custody.

"It was a preventable death it didn't have to happen," said Yusef Miller with North County Equity & Justice Coalition.

The organization held the rally to highlighting the case of 29-year-old Isaiah Hernandez who died in September of 2021 following a medical emergency.

His family says he was diabetic and accuse deputies at jail of neglecting and mistreating Hernandez while in their custody.

"My mom and my sister literally brought his medication and said if you won't take it, this is what the name of it is, this is what he needs," said Emma Prince, Hernandez's sister.

Prince said deputies at the detention center assured the family Hernandez was taking his medication, but that they later learned he was not given his medication to control his condition.

"I just want justice for him and all those to be held accountable. It is still happening we have to stop it we have to stop them," said Hernandez's mother Cindy Hernandez.

Hernandez's mother says at the mortuary she saw visible injuries on her son's body, but that an autopsy report she received from the San Bernardino County Coroner's Office called his death a sudden cardiac incident.

The family has filed a lawsuit against San Bernardino County and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department in the hopes of learning more about Hernandez's death. They say the autopsy report had missing pages they hope they'll be able to obtain through the lawsuit.

"Because they keep stonewalling and won't give us that first initial hearing where they have to do that," said Prince.

Eyewitness News reached out to the San Bernardino County and the Sheriff's Department about the lawsuit. Both organizations were unable to comment directly on the pending lawsuit.

According to the Sheriff's Department website the detention center is one of the largest jails in California with a bed capacity of 3,347.

Data shows since January 2024, at least seven people have died while in custody, including six at the West Valley Detention Center.

"They are branding themselves as a facility and they are housing thousand of inmates they need to be able to take care of them. We need more medical staff, we need better guards, sensitively training," said Prince.