Oversight inspectors accuse Sheriff’s Department of retaliation after reports on jail fires

In the decades since the L.A. County Men’s Central Jail opened, inmates have regularly set fires for a variety of reasons. Then, in a move Sybil Brand Commission members Eric Miller and Mary Veral told The Times last month was “retaliatory,” jail officials confiscated batteries that high-security inmates in isolation used to listen to their radios. “In June 2023 SBC commissioners witnessed fires in cells and brought the issue to the attention of in hopes they would take steps to ensure the safety of people incarcerated and working inside of Men’s Central Jail,” the report said. “LASD has not done anything to address the issue except to take away batteries from everyone incarcerated in the jail except a few people.” For the men living in isolation on the third floor — which is not the same floor where commissioners reported fires in June — the report said the radios “are one of the few things they can purchase to help with their mental health by providing music and entertainment while they are confined in their cell.” The report went on to question why department officials thought “prohibiting the purchase of batteries was the only possible response to the issue of fires,” instead suggesting that officials consider more frequent inspections to determine the source of the fires. At a public meeting last month, Miller described the move as “retaliation by the Sheriff’s Department who, instead of ensuring that get hot meals, have taken away batteries.” In responses to questions from The Times, the Sheriff’s Department said its decision to take away batteries stemmed from the outcome of arson investigations that determined batteries had been the ignition point for recent fires on the third floor and elsewhere in the jail.