Activists demand justice for Andrew Holland

Shocking video of a SLO County Jail inmate’s final hours has Central Coast advocates outraged and calling for the sheriff’s resignation.

A large crowd gathered outside the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court for a rally Saturday, demanding justice for Andrew Holland.

The SLO Film Fest may be taking place this weekend but it’s a different film that has left this community reeling. The SLO Tribune first published the chilling footage, we were unable to obtain clearance to air the video.

People are taking a stand by sitting down. Activists are taking turns sitting in a chair until Monday morning, representing each hour that Andrew Holland spent strapped to a chair.

Corban Holland says if the people in authority followed current procedures, his brother would still be alive.

“My little brother strapped naked to a chair with the very people you pay and support to protect this community and protect our loved ones,” said Corban Holland, Andrew’s older brother.

The video showing what would become Andrew’s last breath is hard to watch, especially for his big brother.

“It’s a story of cover-up and it’s a story of treating a human being less than an animal,” said Corban.

Andrew Holland died while in custody of the San Luis Obispo County Jail in 2017 after being restrained for 46 hours.

“People are outraged. They demand justice for Andrew. They want honesty and the truth from their elected officials and they want to ensure that this doesn’t happen to anyone else,” said Tarrah Graves, Co-Chair, SLO County Progressives Club.

“We had hopes for my brother, we had plans for my brother’s life,” said Corban.

Friends, family and advocacy groups say the 36-year-old mental health patient was tortured to death.

“He was transferred to a restraint chair, under seven point restraints, helmet, naked and left there to urinate and defecate himself and given very little food or water,” said Graves.

Those that have seen the video say Holland was dumped on the cold concrete floor and left to die.

One of the only elected officials in attendance, San Luis Obispo’s Mayor, is calling on Sheriff Ian Parkinson to call off his re-election bid.

“I don’t just call on Ian, I call on this county and the state and the federal government to step up and protect the people and put the people over the profit,” said Heidi Harmon, Mayor of San Luis Obispo.

Protestors are taking it a step further and demanding Sheriff Parkinson’s resignation, an investigation from District Attorney Dan Dow and the truth.

“There needs to be a working relationship between the mental health community and the jail but the buck stops with Ian Parkinson. It falls squarely on his shoulders as far as I’m concerned,” said Graves.

Graves says 12 inmates have died under Parkinson’s watch.

“For San Luis Obispo, the happiest city in America, to have an inmate death rate that’s three times the national average is not acceptable,” said Graves.

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office released a statement Saturday afternoon, responding to claims about Andrew Holland’s Death:

Human life is precious. Jail regulations are intended to protect both inmates and staff from harm and injury. The Andrew Holland case was no exception.

As a matter of record, on January 20, 2017 (a Friday), Andrew Holland was serving a 2-year sentence at the County Jail for a crime of violence. Mr. Holland had a long history of violence and mental illness. He had voluntarily stopped taking his medication. Medical and jail staff observed Holland repeatedly striking himself with his fists and had bloodied his face.

The Sheriff’s Office contacted County Mental Health multiple times requesting that Mr. Holland be transferred to the Mental Health facility for treatment. The Mental Health Department refused to accept him , claiming that they were at “capacity.” It was later determined that their claim was untrue and Mental Health could have taken custody of Mr. Holland for treatment. Two doctors, one from Mental Health and one from Public Health, conferred about the Holland case on that Friday night and refused to have him transferred to the Mental Health facility for treatment. They also failed to adopt a plan to involuntarily sedate the inmate.

The Sheriff’s Office had no alternative other than to place Mr. Holland in restraints. Use of restraints is strictly regulated by a six-page set of rules about every aspect of this process. Citizens of our County and especially all inmates have every right to expect that the Sheriff’s Office will follow these rules whenever restraints are used. The Sheriff’s Office followed these rules at all times during this incident. In accordance with the rules, the entire process was videotaped and careful logs were kept concerning every step in the process. Any claims that the rules about use of restraints were not followed by the Sheriff’s Office, are completely false.

While Mr. Holland was restrained, the Sheriff’s Office asked Mental Health for authorization to forcibly medicate the inmate so that he could be removed from the restraint chair. The Sheriff’s Office does not have the legal authority to involuntarily sedate an inmate. The Mental Health Department refused to classify this situation as “an emergency” which would have permitted involuntary sedation. This decision was a failure of the mental health system.

The large legal settlement against the County with the Holland family came from the medical malpractice insurance of County Mental Health; it was not based on any wrong-doing of the Sheriff’s Office.

For several years before this incident the Sheriff’s Office had requested that the County provide authority to allow mental health staff at the County Jail to involuntarily medicate violent inmates. Following this incident, the Sheriff’s Office requested, and the County approved, the hiring of a Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to serve exclusively at the County Jail; which finally gives the Sheriff’s Office CMO authority to sedate violent inmates.

The Sheriff’s Office and the County have been and will remain focused on effecting positive change on mental health issues in our community.

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