9 inmate deaths bring renewed scrutiny of L.A. County jail conditions

Nine people have died inside L.A. County jails so far this year, an alarming number for the Sheriff’s Department as it continues to face a lawsuit from the state over the conditions in local lockups.

Sheriff’s Department officials said they are continuing to make changes, hoping to reduce the number of in-custody deaths and care for an inmate population that is increasingly struggling with medical and mental health issues.

“Every time I get notified that someone in my care has passed away, it’s like a kick in the groin,” said Sheriff Robert Luna during a brief interview. “It’s not what you want to hear.”

Seven inmates died in January, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and another two deaths have occurred so far in February. The causes of all nine deaths are still pending autopsy reports.

The rate is on pace with 2025, when nine deaths were reported by the end of February, resulting in 46 in-custody deaths for the year. In 2024, the Sheriff’s Department reported 32 deaths.

“It’s not off to a good start,” Luna said.

The Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission will probe the county’s Correctional Health Services during its next meeting, specifically eight suicides and 10 drug-related deaths that occurred in 2025, said Hans Johnson, commission chair.

Officials at Correctional Health Services did not respond to requests to comment.

The Sheriff’s Department is already moving to implement body-worn cameras on deputies inside the jails, and make physical changes to its Inmate Reception Center in hopes of improving the chances of noting when a person with medical or mental health conditions is booked.

Sheriff Robert G. Luna introduced body-worn cameras to the department’s Custody Division, marking the first time the technology has been used in Los Angeles County jails.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

The concerning number of inmate deaths also comes as the Sheriff’s Department faces questions about whether inmates are receiving timely and proper care.

In September 2025, California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta sued the Sheriff’s Department alleging that, according to the state’s complaint, inmates “are forced to live in filthy cells with broken and overflowing toilets, infestations of rats and roaches, and no clean water for drinking or bathing.”

State officials argue the conditions violate the constitutional rights of inmates and could be responsible for the high number of in-custody deaths.

“The lack of access to care contributes to the shocking rate of preventable in-custody deaths, such as suicides,” according to a statement released by Bonta’s office when it filed the suit.

“Instead of addressing root causes or devoting resources to resolving violations of state and federal law that they themselves acknowledge, the county and LASD have continued to resist oversight and accountability, spending millions of dollars to defend and settle litigation about abuses in the jails over the years, without making the necessary changes to their operations and policies and stymieing the work of independent oversight bodies to provide some level of transparency and accountability.”

Inmates, according to Bonta’s complaint, are unable to consistently access mental and medical care, leading to a “shocking rate of deaths inside the jails, many of which are caused by preventable circumstances, such as overdoses, suicides, or violence among incarcerated persons.”

According to Sheriff’s Department data, half of the 46 deaths recorded in county jails last year were listed as natural.

Assistant Sheriff Hugo Macias, chief of custody services division, said each death undergoes an immediate, multiagency review in the first 48 hours.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert G. Luna meets deputies before Christmas Mass at Men’s Central Jail in 2023.

(Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

In-custody deaths are also reviewed by other outside agencies, including the Office of Inspector General and U.S. Department of Justice, the Civilian Oversight Commission, and the American Civil Liberties Union.

“They have this information, and there’s a lot of frustration when it comes to these numbers,” Luna said.

Part of the challenge, Luna said, is the department has been seeing people being booked that are less healthy, older, facing chronic medical conditions, and increasingly in need of mental health help.

According to the Sheriff’s Department, the jail population had increased to about 13,500 inmates as of October 2025, the highest the agency has seen since May 2023. Correctional Health Services has also recorded more than 40,000 contacts with patients in one month.

About 82% of those in custody also identified at least one mental or health issue, according to the Sheriff’s Department, citing Correctional Health Services data.

“The population that we’re seeing has really shifted and, not only is it becoming more ill, our correctional health is getting more work,” Luna said.

According to Macias, about 22% of the inmate population was in need of mental health care in 2015. Today, about 49% of the population has been diagnosed with mental health issues.

On Tuesday, the Sheriff’s Department announced a remodeled mental health assessment area at the Inmate Reception Center, the primary intake and release point for county inmates, located near Men’s Central Jail.

According to the department, more than 50,000 bookings occurred there in 2025, with each receiving mental and health assessments.

The refurbished space offers more confidentiality during screenings to help identify issues early on, Luna said.

Despite challenges, Luna said the department had been making several improvements and he was looking forward to the addressing the allegations made by Bonta’s office.

“We’ll be able to show any judge the trajectory we’ve been on,” Luna said. “We’ve done more in the last three years than we’ve done in decades.”

Luna proposed the county builda correctional care center, modeled after the state hospital system, that would secure inmates but also be built specifically to provide medical services to the most “medically fragile” in the system.

But the department still struggles with its jail-management system, which Luna described as “old-fashioned” and lacking in the use of technology available to other custody operations.

As of October, deputies inside three facilities, including the Inmate Reception Center, Men’s Central Jail and Twin Towers Correctional Facility, began to wear body cameras. About half of the deputies assigned to those locations are already wearing the gear, Macias said, and the department is working to extend it to its other three jails.

About 1,800 body cameras have been deployed.

The department is looking to pilot programs, like monitoring vital sensors of some inmates in real-time, Luna said.

“It’s not the lack of desire — it’s budget,” Luna said.