Civil rights lawsuit filed against Riverside County, sheriff after record number of deaths in jails

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- The families of several inmates who died in the Riverside County jail system last year have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the county and Sheriff Chad Bianco.

The lawsuit comes after 18 inmates died in Riverside County jails in 2022, the most in one year since 12 inmates died in the county jail system back in 2005.

According to the lawsuit, the defendants "deliberately failed to take even modest actions to prevent in custody deaths at the Riverside County correctional facilities."

"This is a county that locks away people, throws away the key and then covers up deaths," attorney Christian Contreras said at a news conference in front of the federal courthouse in Riverside, surrounded by several family members of the deceased.

"(Sheriff) Chad Bianco talks about law and order right? Law and order applies to all aspects of this county including how the jails are being ran," Contreras said.

The lawsuit alleges several federal charges against the county, including failure to protect from harm, failure to provide medical care, supervisory liability causing constitutional violations and negligence.

The mother of Richard Matus, Jr., an inmate who was awaiting trial for attempted murder charges but was found dead in his cell over the summer, spoke out at the news conference as well.

"It was my granddaughter's first day of school when he died, and when she came home I had to tell her the news," said Lisa Matus, whose other son is also currently in custody facing attempted murder charges related to the same incident.

"What do you expect when you go to jail? Well, the expectations when going to jail shouldn't be that you die," Matus said.

According to the lawsuit, the coroner's report ruled that Matus, Jr. died of an "accidental overdose."

Bianco did not comment on the current lawsuit, but did speak with Eyewitness News about Matus, Jr.'s death last summer.

"We did nothing wrong," Bianco said at the time. "He chose to do drugs while he was in custody and we were not able to revive him when he overdosed."

According to the lawsuit, of the 18 inmates who died in the Riverside County jail system last year, five deaths were due to drug overdoses; four were from natural causes; two were suicides; two were homicides; one death was ruled an accident.

Three of the deaths are still awaiting autopsy results.

Attorney Denisse Gastelum said one of the main problems in the Riverside County jail system is the lack of proper and consistent safety and welfare checks on the inmates.

"What's required at a minimum for the general (jail) population, is for every hour on the hour, for deputies to walk by each and every one of the cells, look into the cells," said Gastelum, who alleges that the standard of care is far below that requirement.

"I have interviewed inmate witnesses already. They tell me out of the 24 times a day that these title 15 checks have to be occurring, they see deputies walking by once or twice (per day).

That means for 22 hours those folks being incarcerated aren't being checked."

The lawsuit comes on the heels of the California attorney general announcing a civil rights investigation into the Riverside County Sheriff's Department's practices after deaths in the county jails hit a two-decade high.

"It is time for us to shine a light on the Riverside County sheriff's office and its practices," Attorney General Rob Bonta said.

Bonta called the allegations of misconduct "deeply concerning," although he said no specific incidents were a tipping point to prompt the civil rights investigation.