Two Recent In Custody Deaths Increase Scrutiny Over San Diego Jails

Here are the morning’s top stories on Thursday, August 21, 2025…

• San Diego County’s jail system is facing new scrutiny in a class action lawsuit that challenges nearly every aspect of daily operations. The case centers on years of reported neglect inside the jails, where at least 250 people have died since 2006. A hearing had been set for Thursday, on whether evidence from two recent jailhouse deaths can be used in the case,   but the judge canceled it, saying he already has enough information to make a ruling.
• The California Supreme Court has ruled against state Republicans, who were attempting to slow down Governor Newsom’s redistricting efforts. The state legislature is expected to approve the proposal on Thursday, after which Newsom will call for a special election on November 4. That gives local election offices less than three months to prepare.
• Former Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley has filed a legal claim, alleging Mayor Karen Bass smeared her conduct and decision-making after she was fired.

Class Action Lawsuit Scrutinizes Daily Operations In San Diego’s Jail System 

San Diego County’s jail system is facing new scrutiny in a class action lawsuit that challenges nearly every aspect of daily operations.

The case centers on years of reported neglect inside the jails, where at least 250 people have died since 2006. A hearing had been set for Thursday. The judge in the case was scheduled to determine if evidence from two recent jailhouse deaths would have been permissible in the lawsuit. But the judge canceled it, saying he already has enough information to make a ruling.

Kelly Davis is a reporter with the San Diego Union Tribune who has been covering the jail system for years. “There were two recent deaths and immediately after both deaths, an attorney for the plaintiffs came down to San Diego to get witness statements. And what these men described was pretty horrific. Corey Dean, who died on July 13th, he was crying for help for days. He was covered in feces and he was basically ignored. Karim Talib, who died on July 28th, he was refusing food, refusing medications. He wore diapers. No one was changing his diapers. My colleague Jeff McDonald and I, we’ve been working together on stories on these deaths. The word we kept turning to in describing these witness statements, declarations, is gruesome,” she said.

The department has made some reforms, but Davis said these recent deaths were so alarming and so egregious, that it suggests there’s a culture that needs to be fixed. It’s unclear when the trial might begin.

CA Legislature Poised To Pass Redistricting Plan 

The California Supreme Court has rejected an attempt by Republican lawmakers to delay the redistricting process playing out in Sacramento.

Republicans had argued that the quickly drawn up redistricting plan had not been published long enough to meet public-notice requirements in the state constitution. But the court said Republican lawmakers “have failed to meet their burden of establishing a basis for relief at this time under the California Constitution.”

California voting officials are scrambling behind the scenes to prepare for the special election Gov. Gavin Newsom wants this November on his proposal to redraw the state’s congressional districts. But to do so, Newsom needs voters to approve a ballot initiative in an off-year special election that the state has yet to officially approve and schedule.

Democrats want the proposed California maps to offset President Donald Trump and Republicans’ efforts to stack the next congressional election in the GOP’s favor by squeezing more Republican seats out of red states like Texas, Florida and Missouri. Newsom only released his proposed maps late last week, and state lawmakers — who just returned from a month-long summer recess — are staring down a hard deadline of Friday to greenlight the ballot language before voters in time for a Nov. 4 election.

Ex-LA Fire Chief Alleges Mayor Orchestrated Smear Campaign After Her Ouster

Los Angeles’ former fire chief filed a legal claim Wednesday against the city, alleging that her ouster by Mayor Karen Bass was followed by an orchestrated effort to smear her conduct and decision-making during the most destructive wildfire in LA history.

Former Chief Kristin Crowley’s dismissal a month after January’s Palisades Fire was followed by finger-pointing between her and City Hall over the blaze’s devastation and the fire department’s funding. In March, Crowley lost an appeal to the City Council to win back her job.

Crowley’s legal claim this week alleges that Bass led “a campaign of misinformation, defamation, and retaliation” to protect the mayor’s political reputation following the fire. The mayor’s office said Wednesday that it would not comment on “an ongoing personnel claim.” A message seeking comment was also sent to the LA City Attorney’s office.

Bass fired Crowley on Feb. 21, six weeks after the LA fire started. She praised Crowley in the firefighting effort’s early going, but she said she later learned that an additional 1,000 firefighters could have been deployed on the day the blaze ignited. Furthermore, she said Crowley rebuffed a request to prepare a report on the fires that is a critical part of investigations into what happened and why. Crowley’s legal filing disputes both those claims.