A California man was arrested after an argument over wearing a mask. He later died in jail after being denied medical care, his family says.
Authorities originally said Maurice Monk, 45, died of natural causes in an Oakland jail. His sister says his death was far from natural.
(Photo by Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
- Maurice Monk died in Santa Rita jail after staff denied him medication, according to his family's lawyers.
- According to the complaint, Monk's sister regularly contacted staff at Santa Rita Prison up until the day after he died.
- Monk took prescribed medication to treat, his high blood pressure, diabetes, and schizophrenia.
A California man who died in jail after staff failed to provide adequate medical attention, a lawsuit filed by his family alleges.
Maurice Monk, 45, was arrested last October after swearing at and threatening a bus driver when he refused to wear a mask, KTVU reported. Monk's sister, Elvira Monk, told the outlet he suffered from mental illness and said he couldn't breathe in the mask.
According to a lawsuit filed by Nia'Amore Monk, daughter of Maurice Monk, against Alameda County, her father died in Santa Rita jail despite numerous attempts by his family to get him"medications he so desperately needed."
After Monk's incarceration, his sister contacted the jail and "provided medical records and paperwork showing his prescribed medications and even brought the medications to the jail," the complaint says.
The prescribed medication was to treat his high blood pressure and diabetes, and included regularly scheduled injections for his schizophrenia treatment, the complaint said.
Elvira Monk would continue to send medical documentation up until the day after her brother died because the jail "failed to advise her of her brother's passing until the day after," the lawsuit alleges.
"The system continues to fail Black and brown people. The system continues to fail poor people. The system continues to fail people with mental illness," Alameda County Public Defender Brendon Woods told KTVU.
According to KTVU, the sheriff's office said it appeared Monk died of natural causes while he was detained — a claim his family has denied.
"It's unfortunate when a person passes away at our jail. Many of the people who come to us suffer from serious illness, poverty and lack of access to regular external health care in the community," Alameda County Sheriff Sergeant Ray Kelly said in an email, KTVU reported.
About eight months after his death, the jail "has failed to make Mr. Monk's autopsy or jail records available to his family," the complaint says.
The lawsuit alleges he "died of heart and/or blood pressure complications."