Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 1 of 152 Page ID #:4019 EXHIBIT 6 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 2 of 152 Page ID #:4020 P000190 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 3 of 152 Page ID #:4021 P000191 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 4 of 152 Page ID #:4022 P000192 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 5 of 152 Page ID #:4023 P000193 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 6 of 152 Page ID #:4024 P000194 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 7 of 152 Page ID #:4025 P000195 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 8 of 152 Page ID #:4026 EXHIBIT 7 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 9 of 152 Page ID #:4027 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 10 of 152 Page ID #:4028 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 11 of 152 Page ID #:4029 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 12 of 152 Page ID #:4030 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 13 of 152 Page ID #:4031 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 14 of 152 Page ID #:4032 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 15 of 152 Page ID #:4033 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 16 of 152 Page ID #:4034 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 17 of 152 Page ID #:4035 EXHIBIT 8 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 18 of 152 Page ID #:4036 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 19 of 152 Page ID #:4037 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 20 of 152 Page ID #:4038 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 21 of 152 Page ID #:4039 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 22 of 152 Page ID #:4040 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 23 of 152 Page ID #:4041 EXHIBIT 9 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 24 of 152 Page ID #:4042 1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 2 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 3 4 _____________________________ ) 5 OMAR ARNOLDO RIVERA MARTINEZ,) et al., ) 6 ) Plaintiffs, 7 ) ) vs. )No. 8 )5:18-cv-01125-R-GJS THE GEO GROUP, INC., et al., ) 9 ) Defendants. 10 ) _____________________________) 11 12 13 DEPOSITION OF BARRY BELT 14 Ontario, California 15 Thursday, August 1, 2019 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Reported by: RENEE A. PACHECO, RPR, CLR 23 CSR No. 11564 24 Job No. 3464725 25 PAGES 1 - 80 Page 1 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 25 of 152 Page ID #:4043 1 A I did not. 2 Q Did you meet with your counsel to prepare for 3 this deposition today? 4 A A week or two ago, three weeks; something like 6 Q For how long did you meet? 7 A Maybe 20 minutes if that. 8 Q And that was -- 9 A Rough estimate. 10 Q And that was the only time you met? 11 A Yes. 12 Q Okay. 5 that. Did you speak to any witnesses or 13 individuals involved in the incident that took place on 14 June 12th, 2017? 15 A I did not. 16 Q Other than your attorney have you discussed 17 this case with anyone else? 18 A No. 19 Q Okay. So I'm going to start off just asking 20 about your employment history. 21 employer right now? Is GEO your current 22 A It is. 23 Q And how long have you been with GEO? 24 A Since January of 2014. 25 Q And what is your current title? Page 10 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 26 of 152 Page ID #:4044 1 A Security threat groups investigator, 2 intelligence investigator, and office of professional 3 responsibility investigator. 4 Q And how long have you had these titles? 5 A Since July of 2016. 6 Q What happened was your title prior to that? 7 A I started with GEO as a shift lieutenant. 8 Q And you're a shift lieutenant until July of A There was a couple months in there where I did 9 10 11 12 13 2016? some classification work in intake of new detainees. Q And since your employment with GEO have you only worked at the Adelanto Detention Facility? 14 A Yes. 15 Q And can you tell me a little bit about your 16 responsibilities for your current job titles. 17 security threat group, what are your responsibilities 18 under that title? 19 A So The safety and security of all persons on site, 20 which would include staff, detainees, visitors, other 21 court personnel attorneys, the investigation of threats 22 between detainees and against staff and outside protest 23 threats. 24 25 Q What about as investigator or does that overlap with your security threat group title? Page 11 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 27 of 152 Page ID #:4045 1 A No. 2 Q Can I have you turn to the second page. 3 see the second paragraph? 4 you as Lieutenant Belt? Do you Does that paragraph reference 5 A It does. 6 Q And do you do you see the third paragraph, it 7 says that -- I will represent to you that this is a 8 letter from a detainee's counsel saying that she tried 9 to discuss a telephone block with you on her number. 10 And in this letter she states that your 11 department is within the facility is charged with 12 authority and responsibility of placing blocks on 13 detainee telephone accounts. 14 15 Is that part of your job responsibilities currently? 16 A To some degree, yes. 17 Q And no one ever provided you with a copy of the 18 19 20 21 letter prior to today? A In fact, I don't even recall those conversations. Q 22 23 Not that I'm aware of, no. I'm going to just play something very quickly. (Audio played.) BY MS. HAROOTUN: 24 Q Was that your voice? 25 A It appears to be. And again, I have no Page 13 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 28 of 152 Page ID #:4046 1 recollection of that call. 2 Q No recollection? 3 A Absolutely none. 4 Q Okay. Okay. And do you know -- you said that your 5 department though has some responsibility over blocking 6 telephone numbers. 7 authorized to discuss a telephone blocking matter? 8 9 MS. AGUADO: THE DEPONENT: I don't know. GEO policy. BY MS. HAROOTUN: 12 13 Objection; actually calls for speculation. 10 11 Do you know why you weren't Q And do you know if GEO staff had the ability to block certain numbers at the facility? 14 A General staff. 15 Q Well, which staff had the authority to block 16 Define that. numbers at the facility? 17 A I am not aware of the full range. 19 Q You have authority? 20 A Correct. 18 I know that I do. And then, because it's not our 21 contract, it's managed by ICE and another company, there 22 was a period of time, and I don't know when, I don't 23 know the time frame, I don't know how many months it 24 lasted, but we could not block any numbers locally. 25 then all of a sudden we were able to do it again. And So I Page 14 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 29 of 152 Page ID #:4047 1 don't know. 2 didn't track those measures. 3 4 Q And I don't know the time frames because I So you said at one point the facility was not able to block local numbers? 5 A Correct. 6 Q And currently the facility has the ability to 7 8 9 10 11 12 block local numbers? A Correct. I don't know if it's all numbers or just select numbers. I don't know the extent. it's not my contract. Q It's not GEO's contract. But based on your knowledge you know that it's local numbers that can be blocked? 13 MS. AGUADO: 14 THE DEPONENT: 15 16 17 18 19 20 Again, Misstates his testimony. Can you repeat the question. BY MS. HAROOTUN: Q Based on your knowledge you know that local numbers can currently be blocked; correct? A Yes. There are numbers that can be blocked from -- locally from the facility. Q Okay. Is there any training or policy that the 21 GEO Group has on this on the ability to block telephone 22 numbers at Adelanto? 23 A Not that I'm aware of, no. 24 Q Do you know what the method is for blocking 25 calls? Page 15 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 30 of 152 Page ID #:4048 1 A Yes. 2 Q How does one block a call? 3 A It -- the number appears on the screen, 4 whatever number it happens to be. 5 user to either select block or the details of that 6 particular number, which would include call history and 7 things like that. 8 the option would allow you to unblock it. 9 10 Q And it allows the If a number is already blocked then And under what circumstances is a GEO staff member permitted to block numbers at the facility? 11 A Again, I can't speak for regular staff. 12 Q Or what is -- under what circumstances are you 13 14 15 16 permitted to block a number? A Security threats to the facility or staff or detainees. Q Do you know where the screen is that appears 17 with the block -- that has the block numbers, you 18 mentioned a screen before? 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A It's within the program. I'm not sure what you're asking. Q You said there's a screen that appears with a number and the call history? A It's all contained within the program that is managed by this other company, third-party company. Q What's the name of that company? Page 16 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 31 of 152 Page ID #:4049 1 A Talton. 2 Q Okay. 3 A I don't. 4 Q So sorry. And do you know what program it is? Can I ask you again. Under what 5 circumstances would you be permitted to block calls to a 6 certain number? 7 8 MS. AGUADO: Asked and answered, but go ahead and repeat. 9 THE DEPONENT: Under threats to the facility, 10 staff members, or detainees. 11 BY MS. HAROOTUN: 12 13 14 Q And what's an example of a threat to the facility staff member or detainee? A Incoming calls stating specific threats or 15 staff members receiving harassing phone numbers from a 16 number that I would have access to. 17 detainees sometimes write to me and want numbers blocked 18 because they're getting harassed by a family member, 19 ex-family member, significant other, whatever. 20 Q And certainly Is there any other circumstances where you 21 would block a number that wouldn't be threat-related and 22 also a request by a detainee? 23 A Under ICE direction. 24 Q Do you know under what circumstances typically 25 ICE directs you to block a number? Page 17 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 32 of 152 Page ID #:4050 1 2 Q Where are those -- you said there's a screen, correct, where you see the blocking? 3 A Yes. 4 Q And where are those screens located in the 5 6 7 8 9 facility? A Generally in my office it looks much like that one there. Q So just a regular computer and it's in your office? 10 A That's one location I can access it, yes. 11 Q Okay. 12 Is there any other location you can access? 13 A Anywhere within the facility I log in. 14 Q Okay. 15 And where are computers located in the facility? 16 A I don't know the host of them. 17 Q Okay. 18 19 20 21 I'm not MIS. Do you know how detainees are given instructions on how to operate the phone system? A My understanding is it's in their detainee handbook. Q And have you ever seen copies of a sheet that 22 detainees are asked to sign when they enter the facility 23 that says they are not allowed to make three-way calls? 24 25 A I don't recall the sheet. I know that it's explained that they cannot make three-way calls or Page 19 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 33 of 152 Page ID #:4051 1 Go ahead. 2 3 THE DEPONENT: I have no idea. BY MS. HAROOTUN: 4 Q And is it your understanding that there's some 5 way for the facility to monitor whether a party on the 6 other end of the line calls someone else? 7 A Yes. 8 Q Do you know how they monitor that? 9 A Yeah, I listen to the phone call. 10 Q So that's the only way you would find out? 11 A That's the only way I'm aware of. I would 12 listen to the connection of the other party on the line 13 or the digits in the facilitator's phone being dialed 14 into that other phone link. 15 Q What if the detainee was on a call with an 16 attorney and the attorney conferenced in someone, would 17 that call be monitored if the detainee was on a call 18 with an attorney? 19 A We don't monitor attorney calls. 20 Q So if monitoring the call is the only way to 21 know that someone is on a three-way call would there be 22 no way of knowing that an attorney call was a conference 23 call? 24 25 A From my position, correct. Again I don't presume to know what Talton does with their business. Page 21 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 34 of 152 Page ID #:4052 1 warden or ICE to go ahead with the block. 2 either concur or don't concur. 3 Q And they And are these -- the documentation of any 4 restriction to phone access is that -- where is that 5 kept? 6 in some other system? 7 8 Is that kept in the detainee's file? A Is it kept It would be a copy of it or the original would be in my office. 9 Q So your office has all the documentation? 10 A No. 11 12 13 14 I can't say -- again, "always" and "never" are loaded terms. Q I can't use those. But typically when there's documentation of any restriction to a call? A No. I can't even say that. Again, I don't 15 presume to know why other people do or don't do things. 16 I can only speak for myself. 17 18 Q So all your own documentation is in your office? 19 A There should be a copy in my office. 20 Q Okay. And it says here that even if a detainee 21 is under or within a special management unit their 22 telephone access for legal calls, courts, government 23 offices and embassies or consulates shall not be denied; 24 is that right? 25 A Correct. Page 29 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 35 of 152 Page ID #:4053 1 2 3 4 5 Q So under any circumstance would a detainee not be prevented from contacting his or her attorney? A A lot of double negatives in there. Can you restate that? Q Sure. Well, under any circumstance would a 6 detainee be prevented from contacting his or her 7 attorney, under any circumstance? 8 9 A If the ICE -- I would guess if the attorney is complicit in the safety and security issues at the 10 facility or in some kind of criminal endeavor then that 11 would be a cause to restrict that access because the 12 attorney would not be working in the interest of the 13 court for that purposes. 14 15 16 Q How do you determine whether an attorney is complicit? A I usually don't. Talton does a lot of that. 17 If it's a situation where Talton already knows that it's 18 an attorney's office those are pre unrecorded. 19 does not record numbers that they know to be attorney's 20 offices or connected to attorneys. 21 because there would be no recording. 22 Talton So I wouldn't know Aside from that I would have to know that it 23 was, in fact, an attorney -- not just an attorney. 24 There are many different types of attorneys, but the 25 attorney was working on behalf of the detainee and Page 30 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 36 of 152 Page ID #:4054 1 earlier today, you don't recall whether that concerned 2 an internal protest and whether that could have been the 3 basis for blocking the phone number? 4 A No. I have no independent recollection of the 5 call, the substance of the call, or if and why numbers 6 were or were not blocked. 7 8 Q I don't know. Was it your understanding that you were authorized to discuss the blocking of calls? 9 A My understanding from my facility is that we 10 discussed nothing and route everything through ICE. 11 They're our client. 12 comments and answer questions related to detainee care 13 and issues with the facility, all that. 14 within the regional or corporate office. 15 place to comment on anything. 16 17 Q They're the ones authorized to make It's not my You said that you're one of the people within the facility that blocks numbers; correct? 18 A Correct. 19 Q And who else can block numbers? 20 Or somebody Under what job title do you have the ability to block numbers? 21 A Again, I think I've answered that. 23 Q You don't know? 24 A I don't know who would have that ability and 22 25 I don't know. who would not. Page 34 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 37 of 152 Page ID #:4055 1 that they facilitate timing, dating, and the 2 expansiveness or inclusion of certain areas in that 3 hunger strike, if it's a hunger strike. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Q And that circumstance their numbers would be -- they would have numbers associated with them blocked? A I can't speak for all circumstances, but that would be a reasoning. Q So it would just be, if they were coordinating a hunger strike, that would be grounds for blocking numbers? A That could possibly be one. And again, ICE 12 makes a determination on their own accord. 13 speak for ICE. 14 15 16 Q I don't But the GEO facility -- but the facility in this case and GEO's policies, under those policies? A That could be a reasoning. Whether it occurred 17 or not, I don't know. 18 administrator. 19 I don't presume to question his judgment on things. 20 ICE, I know that he coordinates with ICE. 21 directions on their accord. 22 one of them. 23 24 25 Q I work directly for the facility He makes directions based on his accord. And And they make I don't speak for either I simply carry out their directives. So are there any other people in the threat group that you're a part of, the security threat group? A Assigned to my position or similar type of Page 39 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 38 of 152 Page ID #:4056 1 BY MS. HAROOTUN: 2 Q But do you remember receiving any training on 3 the First Amendment while you were working with GEO 4 Group, you yourself? 5 6 A Just what I've explained already. I've been pre-service and in-service. 7 Q So you remember receiving that training? 8 A I remember that an area of topic is in those 9 10 areas, yeah. training, no. Do I remember the specifics of that Again, I don't teach that course. 11 Q And who is the facility administrator? 12 A Mr. Janica. 13 Q And do you remember anything about the incident 14 in this case, the one that took place on June 12th, 15 2017? 16 A No. 17 Q And do you know if you were responsible for 18 blocking any number related to the detainees in this 19 case? 20 21 22 A I do not. MS. AGUADO: Assumes facts and lacks foundation about any numbers that were blocked. 23 Go ahead. 24 THE DEPONENT: 25 Yeah. Again, I don't know if detainee's numbers were blocked in this incident. I Page 41 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 39 of 152 Page ID #:4057 1 conclusion. 2 THE DEPONENT: I have no idea. I'm not a 3 constitutional scholar, nor am I medical personnel that 4 would be able to judge their medical health or being 5 able to do that. 6 BY MS. HAROOTUN: 7 Q So if a detainee is deprived of any usually 8 authorized items or activity is a report of the action 9 forwarded to the facility administrator? 10 A Define "deprived." 11 Q So restricted phone access or blocking of 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 numbers? A Generally speaking, yes. individuals, no. Q But you will report it to the facility administrator? A I would ask for permission, authorization to do that generally speaking. Q And is that done as a report to the 20 administrator or just orally? 21 MS. AGUADO: 22 THE DEPONENT: 23 memo, maybe verbal. 24 can be transmitted. 25 Can I speak for all How is that communicated? Asked and answered. Yeah. But go ahead. It would be a written There's different ways a message /// Page 43 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 40 of 152 Page ID #:4058 1 BY MS. HAROOTUN: 2 Q If it's verbal is there still a record made? 3 A I don't know. I can't speak for the facility 4 administrator or whoever else might verbally authorize 5 it. 6 written reports. 7 I know that ICE generally does not provide any Q So what information do you give the 8 administrator when you, let's say want to block a 9 number? 10 A It would be the reasoning for or the necessity 11 for identifying the issues posed by the continued phone 12 calls, things of that nature. 13 things that could possibly fit in that category. 14 can't speak for every single one of them. 15 16 Q I Did the administrator give you any criteria that you have to meet? 17 MS. AGUADO: 18 MS. HAROOTUN: 19 MS. AGUADO: 20 But go ahead. 21 THE DEPONENT: 22 Again, there's a list of To block a call? Yes. Asked and answered several times. In this instance or in general? BY MS. HAROOTUN: 23 Q What do you mean "in this instance?" 24 A Well, I don't know what you're referring to. 25 Q Just any criteria when -- you know, you said as Page 44 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 41 of 152 Page ID #:4059 1 2 3 4 that is a DHS agent. Q Is it typically ICE officers that are in the facility? A It's all levels. It's deportation officers. 5 It's supervisory detention deportation officers. 6 the officer in charge, formally called the AFOD, 7 assistant field office director. 8 Whether or not I interact with them, sometimes, not 9 always. 10 11 Q I see I see all levels. And have you had any conversations with them about phone access? 12 A No. 13 Q So how do you decide whether an outside protest 14 That's not my job. is a threat to the facility? 15 A 16 present it. 17 Q You present it to the facility administrator? 18 A That would be one source, yeah. 19 Q What's another? 20 A The assistant and deputy facility 21 22 I don't decide. I simply write it up and administrators, chief of security. Q So before any blocking of phone numbers happens 23 you ses out whether there's that -- there's an outside 24 protest happening and you maybe say there's a threat, 25 and then you forward it along to someone else to make Page 46 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 42 of 152 Page ID #:4060 1 detainees on internal hunger strikes. 2 from monitoring phone calls. 3 monitoring written measures from detainees. 4 number of different sources. 5 sorted through and threats are identified or not. 6 7 8 9 Q Some of it comes Some of it comes from There's a It's all combined and So do you write up every mention of an outside protest? A I notify the warden, the facility administrator, and -- well, pretty much from the chief 10 of security up and the captains if I have knowledge of a 11 protest that's going to occur. 12 from outside law enforcement. 13 from the detainees. 14 or social networking, whatever. 15 different sources. 16 Q Sometimes I'll hear it Sometimes I'll hear it Sometimes I'll hear it from staff, There's a number of So are there situations where you're monitoring 17 a call, you suspect there's some protest happening on 18 the outside, do you have authority to go ahead and block 19 that number? 20 MS. AGUADO: 21 Go ahead. 22 THE DEPONENT: 23 not sure. 24 BY MS. HAROOTUN: 25 Q It's been asked and answered. It's kind of hypothetical. I'm Do you have authority on your own to block a Page 48 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 43 of 152 Page ID #:4061 1 number without getting approved by someone else, such as 2 the facility administrator or warden? 3 4 5 A I suppose I could. I don't. I allow my boss the courtesy of that knowledge and his decision-making. Q So then either all of the time or most of the 6 time you wait for your bosses decision on blocking the 7 number? 8 9 A I suppose there are circumstances that could evolve that are emergent in nature that might require 10 more drastic action. 11 what you are talking about. 12 13 14 Q I would not be able to specify You've never been in a situation where that happened? A If I know -- I don't recall any situations 15 hearing them on the phones or anything that have been so 16 emergent that they're going to happen within the next 17 five minutes if I don't take some action. 18 usually by the time I get to the phone calls they're 19 already recorded. 20 And it's a day, a week, or two weeks later when 21 I hear the call. 22 activity. 23 24 25 Because Q I don't live monitor as a general I have a number of duties. So can you tell me more about your day-to-day while we're on that subject. A No. It's very full. It goes in a number of Page 49 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 44 of 152 Page ID #:4062 1 I, the undersigned, a Certified Shorthand 2 Reporter of the State of California, Registered 3 Professional Reporter, Certified Live Note Reporter, do 4 hereby certify: That the foregoing proceedings were taken 5 before me at the time and place herein set forth; that 6 any witnesses in the foregoing proceedings, prior to 7 testifying, were duly sworn; that a record of the 8 proceedings was made by me using machine shorthand which 9 was thereafter transcribed under my direction; that the 10 foregoing transcript is a true record of the testimony 11 given. 12 Further, that if the foregoing pertains to the 13 original transcript of a deposition in a Federal Case, 14 before completion of the proceedings, review of the 15 transcript [ 16 I further certify I am neither financially interested in 17 the action nor a relative or employee of any attorney or 18 party to this action. 19 ] was [ ] was not requested. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have this date subscribed 20 my name. 21 Dated: August 20, 2019 22 23 24 <%7317,Signature%> RENEE A. PACHECO 25 CSR No. 11564 RPR, CLR Page 80 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 45 of 152 Page ID #:4063 EXHIBIT 10 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 46 of 152 Page ID #:4064 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA OMAR ARNOLDO RIVERA MARTINEZ; ISAAC ANTONIO LOPEZ CASTILLO; JOSUE VLADIMIR CORTEZ DIAZ; JOSUE MATEO LEMUS CAMPOS; MARVIN JOSUE GRANDE RODRIGUEZ; ALEXANDER ANTONIO BURGOS MEJIA; LUIS PENA GARCIA; JULIO CESAR BARAHONA CORNEJO, as individuals, ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) vs. ) ) THE GEO GROUP, INC., a Florida ) corporation; THE CITY OF ADELANTO, ) a municipal entity; GEO LIEUTENANT ) DURAN, sued in her individual ) capacity; GEO LIEUTENANT DIAZ, ) sued in her individual capacity; ) GEO SERGEANT CAMPOS, sued in his ) individual capacity; SARAH JONES, ) sued in her individual capacity; ) THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; and ) DOES 1-10, individuals, ) ) Defendants. ) ___________________________________) CASE NO. 5:18-cv-01125-SP DEPOSITION OF LEO MARVIN MC CUSKER ONTARIO, CALIFORNIA WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 REPORTED BY: Carolyn Ann Peterson CSR No. 3195 Pages 1- 86 Page 1 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 47 of 152 Page ID #:4065 1 A Chief of Security. 2 Q How long were you the Chief of Security at 3 Adelanto? 4 A Approximately one year. 5 Q Before assuming that role, did you work at 6 Adelanto? 7 A Yes, I did. 8 Q In what capacity? 9 A Captain. 10 Q How long were you a Captain at Adelanto? 11 A I believe three years. 12 Q Prior to becoming a Captain, did you work at 13 Adelanto? 14 A Yes, I did. 15 Q In what capacity? 16 A As a lieutenant? 17 Q How long were you a lieutenant at Adelanto 18 Detention Center? 19 A It would have been two years. 20 Q Prior to becoming a lieutenant, did you work 21 at Adelanto? 22 A No. 23 Q Where did you work before starting your role 24 25 as a Lieutenant at Adelanto Detention Center? A I worked for the GEO Group in Phoenix, Page 5 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 48 of 152 Page ID #:4066 1 A It covers -- I use the word "purpose" of the 2 OC being sprayed to disorient, to gain compliance, and 3 to gain those items, the pepper spray's action on the 4 body is to make it feel the effect of pepper -- or use 5 the term burning, although it's not literally burning, 6 but it's actually temporary. 7 Q You said that the participants in the training 8 also would themselves be sprayed with the OC spray; is 9 that right? 10 A That's correct. 11 Q They were -- why was that done? 12 A It's done to educate the user as to what to 13 expect. The subject in the case of a real time use of 14 OC, to teach them what it is they are going to expose 15 this person to, for whatever reason whether or not you 16 think it's appropriate, because of how the individual 17 might act. 18 experience, so you are better prepared to use it or not 19 use it. At least now you know what they are going to 20 Q Have you yourself been sprayed with OC spray? 21 A Yes, I have. 22 Q I have heard testimony from a bunch of people 23 about how it feels to them. How did it feel to you? 24 A It burns. 25 Q On a scale of zero to 10, where would you rank Page 33 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 49 of 152 Page ID #:4067 1 2 it? A I would rank it progressively over time 3 probably eight right now. 4 psychological into the affect of OC. 5 going to do, so if you were to spray me today, I'm 6 prepared mentally to know it's going to burn, and I 7 don't feel as I would 20 years ago when I was first 8 sprayed, and I see that over time with subjects that are 9 sprayed and it has no effect on -- or no outward effect. 10 Q I factor in a big piece of I know what it's So you mean when you were first sprayed, you 11 didn't know what to expect, you didn't know how long it 12 was going to last, so the experience was more painful or 13 traumatic? 14 A Correct. Correct. Your brain is telling you 15 this is not right, and everything is amplified, whatever 16 number of times. 17 Q Okay. As part of the lesson, you said that 18 participants also are taught the decontamination. 19 frequently are the participants taught the 20 decontamination in the lesson? How 21 A Well, let me give you the process. 22 Q Thank you. 23 A I'm the participant, I'm going to be sprayed. 24 I will be sprayed, and then I will have to perform a 25 series of tasks. I will have to go from Point A to B Page 34 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 50 of 152 Page ID #:4068 1 that have been OC sprayed? 2 A Yes. 3 Q Where are they trained on that decontamination 4 5 process? A Training is part of the use-of-force lesson 6 plan discussing the decontamination as soon as possible 7 and shower. 8 decontamination. 9 Q Water is the preferred method of So is it fair to say that every officer that 10 works at Adelanto would have an understanding of how to 11 decontaminate someone who has been sprayed with OC 12 spray? 13 A Yes, it is. 14 Q Do the officers receive any training on the 15 temperature that the water should be when someone is 16 being decontaminated? 17 A No, not in this lesson plan. 18 Q Is there any training provided to officers as 19 to the impact of the water temperature on the sensation 20 someone feels after being OC sprayed? 21 A No. 22 Q And that's true both in the lesson that is 23 specific as to OC spray provided to the supervisors and 24 also in the new-hire service training? 25 A No, the term "cool water" could be used. I Page 37 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 51 of 152 Page ID #:4069 1 would to have read it to see exactly if it says cool 2 water, but ideally it could can be cool rather, not 3 required. 4 Q But there's no training on the -- for example, 5 the effect of hot water on someone who has been OC 6 sprayed? 7 A No. 8 Q In the pre-service training, are there any 9 lessons or modules on detainees' constitutional rights? 10 A Yes. 11 Q Can you describe that module or modules? 12 A The module entitled "Detainees' Rights" covers 13 the 4th Amendment search and seizure, 8th Amendment, 14 cruel and unusual punishment. 15 to legal access to courts. 16 specific to ICE-related topics in the environment at 17 Adelanto, as opposed to criminal. 18 we cover. 19 Q It touches on the right I think that's it. 14, I think that's what Nothing else comes to mind. In that module or any of the other trainings, 20 are officers trained on detainees' rights to contact 21 their lawyers or communicate with their lawyers? 22 A They are given information that affords the 23 detainees 24-hour access to phone systems to anyone they 24 want to call. 25 Q There are times where Adelanto restricts Page 38 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 52 of 152 Page ID #:4070 1 Q What training is provided to staff at 2 Adelanto, if any, on how to investigate an incident 3 involving the use of force? 4 A The task of investigating a use of force is -- 5 primarily a Captain or a Chief of Security reviews the 6 documents generated as a result of the use of force. 7 Documents would include the SIR, a general information 8 GIR report, but participants, a medical assessment 9 prepared by the medical people, review the video 10 available of the incident, correlate all that 11 information, and present it in a committee forum with 12 the Captain or Chief of Security, an ICE representative 13 and a medical representative. 14 All the paperwork is reviewed by those 15 individuals, and if the video is a factor, the video is 16 reviewed, a judgment is made as to whether the use of 17 force was justified or not. 18 the committee. 19 Q That is the intention of Among those documents, are there any documents 20 that contain detainees' statements about what happened 21 during the use of force? 22 A No. 23 Q Is there any training provided to the Captain 24 or the Chief of Security regarding how to assess the 25 information that is contained in the SIR, the GIR, the Page 40 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 53 of 152 Page ID #:4071 1 A It would be situational. There's nobody 2 saying you can only mark one, no, you can mark multiple, 3 yes. 4 Q Part of the reason I ask that, there are two 5 boxes on this document that are crossed off the "major 6 disturbance" and the "minor disturbance" boxes. 7 Do you see that? 8 A Yes, I do. 9 Q Are those your initials next to the lines 10 crossing out those boxes? 11 A Yes, they are. 12 Q Why did you cross off these two boxes? 13 A The term "disturbance" is the operative word, 14 if you will. 15 use of force and was ultimately reported as such. 16 term "disturbance" could have a connotation of a riot, 17 for instance, as a worst case, and it wasn't felt that 18 that term "disturbance" accurately described the 19 incident. 20 21 22 Q This incident is certainly considered a The Where is the term disturbance defined, or if you are an officer, how do you know what that means? A Typically, it's discussed amongst the 23 supervisors, the individuals and possibly administrators 24 as to the terminology to describe an incident. 25 Q So is it fair to say that definition of the Page 44 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 54 of 152 Page ID #:4072 1 term sort of varies on a case by case basis? 2 you mean? 3 A I don't want to say it would vary. Or what do The 4 incident in it's totality can be just a use-of-force 5 incident, such as this, with the detainees being pepper 6 sprayed. 7 it very likely would be coined as a disturbance by the 8 Facility Administrator before it was reported as a 9 facility disturbance. 10 Q If the term disturbance was going to be used, So I guess what I'm trying to understand, is 11 there a single definition of disturbance, or is it up to 12 interpretation and ultimately the decision of the 13 Facility Administrator? 14 A Well, let me -- I don't have an answer. I 15 can't cite the document that tells us what is or isn't a 16 disturbance, but there are documents that would identify 17 certain actions or incidents within the facility that 18 could be classified as a disturbance. 19 Q Do you know where that document is? 20 A It could be an attachment to the policy on 21 serious incident reports. 22 it is. 23 Q 24 25 Okay. I don't know for a fact that But there is a definition of major disturbance and minor disturbance? MS. AGUADO: That misstates his testimony. I Page 45 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 55 of 152 Page ID #:4073 1 think he explained something different, but go ahead. 2 THE WITNESS: Well, I said, I can't cite the 3 actual document, but there is something that says what a 4 disturbance -- where you cross that threshold. 5 BY MS. STEINBACK: 6 7 Q Does GEO train its officers on where that threshold is crossed and what constitutes a disturbance? 8 A No. 9 Q Here did you make the decision ultimately that 10 it shouldn't be categorized as a major or minor 11 disturbance? 12 A I don't recall whether I involved any other 13 persons in that decision, reading it today, I would not 14 change -- I would leave it as it is. 15 changed the disturbance. 16 decision. 17 18 Q I wouldn't have I would have made the same Sitting here today, you still agree that it was not a major or minor disturbance? 19 A That is correct. 20 Q What is the purpose of the "Subject" Box? 21 Maybe just to be more clear, so does it matter 22 whether you mark it as a major disturbance, a minor 23 disturbance or as here, under "Other use of force"? 24 25 A It was a matter more in the area of our categorizing it as an incident for documentation, number Page 46 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 56 of 152 Page ID #:4074 1 spray, is a minor use of force? 2 A No. 3 Q Why not? 4 A The use-of-force criteria states that if OC or 5 chemical weapons are utilized in use of force, then it's 6 classified as a major use of force. 7 Q Is everyone in the facility trained on that? 8 A Yes. 9 Q Going further down, in the last box, it 10 states, "Reason For Use Of Force," and it has a variety 11 of categories. 12 Do you see that? 13 A Yes. 14 Q And in this document, the first category is 15 checked, which is "Confrontation avoidance proved 16 ineffective." 17 Do you see that? 18 A Yes. 19 Q Are staff at Adelanto trained on confrontation 20 avoidance? 21 A Yes. 22 Q Where do they receive training on 23 24 25 confrontation avoidance? A In the pre-service as a lesson or module. I'm uncertain if it's in in-service. Page 51 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 57 of 152 Page ID #:4075 1 they are -- the staff are trained in confrontation 2 avoidance, the reasons for it, and the techniques that 3 could be used to de-escalate a situation. 4 Q And was that true in June of 2017 -- 5 A Yes. 6 Q -- what you just described? 7 A Yes. 8 Q In the use-of-force training that has been 9 marked as Exhibit 2, there is a section on the use of 10 video cameras and the requirement that video cameras, 11 if possible, are used to document the force, correct? 12 A Correct. 13 Q And just to be clear, that's not an optional 14 15 policy, correct? A That's correct. It's a directive policy that 16 the cameras be made available to the incident as soon as 17 practical. 18 19 MS. STEINBACK: I'm going to hand you what I'm marking as Exhibit 5. 20 (Whereupon Exhibit 5 was marked for 21 identification by the Court Reporter 22 And is attached hereto.) 23 MS. STEINBACK: For the record, I just handed 24 to the deponent Exhibit 5, Bates-stamped 002238 through 25 02240. Page 54 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 58 of 152 Page ID #:4076 1 Q So, for example, what would the discussion -- 2 just looking at the next one, disturbance/riot, what 3 would the discussion around that have been? 4 A It's going to be dependent on the instructor, 5 how the instructor relays personal experiences, for 6 instance, on disturbance/riot, they are not really 7 synonomous, although it seems to me they used it in that 8 context, but there would be, again, an explanation, not 9 Screen 3, a definition, an explanation of what would be 10 11 12 considered a disturbance or a riot. Q I know we already discussed disturbance. Is there a definition of a riot, or what a riot is? 13 A I don't know that it's written by definition. 14 Q Is there training on what a riot is or what 15 staff is supposed to classify what is a riot? 16 A This training would be that. 17 Q So the discussion, which can vary depending on 18 who the instructor is? 19 A That's possible, yes. 20 Q Would the same be true for hostage situation? 21 A We have a class module that is hostage 22 23 situations, so it's further defined on its own merit. Q So of the list here, can you identify for me 24 which have a further module that helps define what the 25 situation is, just starting at the top. Is there a Page 62 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 59 of 152 Page ID #:4077 1 further module or training on bomb threat? 2 A No. 3 Q Is there a further module or training on 4 disturbance/riot? 5 A No. 6 Q Escape? 7 A Yes. 8 Q Hostage situation? 9 A (No audible response.) 10 Q "Yes"? 11 A Yes. 12 Q Hunger strike? 13 A No. 14 Q Work stoppage or other job action? 15 A No. 16 Q Manmade disasters? 17 A No. 18 Q Immediate release of inmates from locked areas 19 including use of manual backup systems? 20 A No. 21 Q Evacuation of inmates, staff or visitors? 22 A Not a specific module, but it's covered in 23 other topics, to include emergency situations. We would 24 discuss that in the disturbance or riot, for instance, 25 what we are going to do as an after action or during the Page 63 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 60 of 152 Page ID #:4078 1 action try to evacuate. 2 Q Okay. 3 A No. 4 Q Medical emergency? 5 A Medical has modules that discuss Code Blue, Q All right. 6 Death? yes. 7 Back to -- turning to the next 8 page is medical emergency. 9 are also here to testify on detainee complaints 10 It's my understanding you regarding the showers and water at Adelanto. 11 During your time at Adelanto, have you heard 12 detainee complaints about the temperature of the water 13 in the showers? 14 A Yes, I have. 15 Q How recently have you heard those complaints? 16 A Not within the past year. 17 say. 18 about temperature. 19 It's difficult to Several months back, I might have heard something Q I know it's very specific to ask -- do you 20 remember hearing any complaints about the temperature of 21 the water in the shower in June of 2014? 22 A No, I don't remember that. 23 Q When -- for the incident that you recall, did 24 you recall hearing any complaints about -- what were the 25 complaints? Page 64 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 61 of 152 Page ID #:4079 1 2 3 4 A too hot. Q I have heard both no hot water and hot water I have heard both. Have those been in specific areas within the facility or throughout the facility? 5 A They would have been in specific areas. 6 Q Do you remember what specific area you heard 7 those complaints about? 8 A I do not. 9 Q Were those complaints conveyed to you orally 10 or in writing? 11 A Orally. 12 Q Did the detainees come up to report the 13 complaints, or did you overhear it, for example, if you 14 were walking through an area in the facility? 15 A They would have approached me directly during 16 us casually passing. 17 their eyes, is the guy that fixes everything, that's why 18 it would even be brought up to me. 19 20 Q Okay. And that as -- the Captain, in When those complaints were made to you, did you document them anywhere? 21 A Yes. 22 Q Where did you document them? 23 A They are documented in the form of a repair 24 25 order request or work order request. Q Did you follow up to see what happened with Page 65 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 62 of 152 Page ID #:4080 1 2 Q And it sounds, as you described it, that was an issue with more than one staff member. 3 A It's happened on occasion as to the extreme of 4 the remedial training over the same two year period of 5 time, probably half a dozen people have gotten that 6 training. 7 Q Are there any other topics that have been the 8 subject of coaching to more than one individual, like 9 any other common issues? 10 A I'm sure there have been, but none come to 11 mind. Count procedures is one that came to mind because 12 it's rather significant, even more significant than the 13 other one I mentioned with the logbook entries. 14 Logbook entry retraining, somebody putting 15 their opinion in the logbook rather than just the facts, 16 not the end-all to the day, but something that needs to 17 be addressed with the individual. 18 Q And the reason the count procedure is so 19 important is because that's the mechanism by which you 20 ensure that no one has absconded from the facility? 21 A Correct. 22 Q Did you communicate in any way with anyone 23 outside of GEO about the June 12, 2017 hunger strike? 24 A Anyone outside of GEO? 25 Q Yes. Page 73 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 63 of 152 Page ID #:4081 1 Q So your understanding is based on an account 2 that someone else created to describe what happened that 3 day? 4 A Yes. 5 Q You don't have any firsthand knowledge? 6 A No. 7 Q Did you ever go speak to any of the men to 8 either confirm or dispute their accounts? 9 A I don't recall talking to any of them. 10 Q In your experience at Adelanto, how many 11 hunger strikes, to your knowledge, have been declared? 12 A I couldn't put a number on it. Many. 13 Q Can you estimate? 14 A It's not routine, but it's not uncommon that a 15 detainee will, as a lever to whatever end, say, "I'm 16 going on a hunger strike." 17 sometime -- in 12 months, could happen maybe six times. 18 19 Q And the reason for declaring the hunger -- strike that. 20 21 And that could happen GEO trained its staff to take the declaration seriously, right? 22 A Yes. 23 Q Because there could be serious consequences if 24 25 someone goes on a hunger strike? A There could be. Page 76 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 64 of 152 Page ID #:4082 1 2 MS. STEINBACK: Q Back on. You previously testified to some retraining 3 that you do of individual staff following grievances. 4 And I don't know if I asked this, but in case I didn't, 5 have there been any changes to the general trainings as 6 a result of grievances or other detainee complaints? 7 A No. 8 Q Okay. 9 I know we have also discussed some terms, including disturbance and riot. Another term 10 that we have seen used is rebellion. 11 definition of what a rebellion is for inmate or detainee 12 situation? 13 14 A Is there a single That term, "rebellion," I have never used it in my work history. 15 Q In your entire work history? 16 A Right. 17 Q Why is that? 18 A I think the term rebellion is synonymous with 19 either riot or disturbance and just is not used. 20 21 To me it's an archaic word. Q Have you ever been in a situation that you 22 would categorize as a rebellion in your professional 23 setting? 24 25 A I likely could have used the word rebellion -- that's the group that were rebelling against the Page 80 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 65 of 152 Page ID #:4083 1 particular meal that they received -- something in that 2 context, but I have never used the word. 3 Q Okay. I would use the connotation of 4 rebellion as something slightly more than rebelling 5 against or expressing distaste for a meal. 6 Would that be fair to say? 7 A It could be. I just don't use it. In 8 thinking about it, having been asked, I would see a 9 country rebellion occurring, but not in the context of a 10 facility detainee or inmate facility, I haven't heard 11 that. 12 Q Is it fair to say in all the training that you 13 have both done and sat through, you have not been 14 trained on rebellions? 15 A When I do that specific course, I use -- I say 16 the word rebellion. 17 rebellion, because it's written on there. 18 elaborate on it. 19 20 Q I say disturbance, riot or I don't Have you ever seen any officers use the term rebellion to describe -- 21 A Not that I recall. 22 Q You described the grievance process and your 23 work with the grievance coordinator when you were the 24 Chief of Security. 25 I just have a few more questions. Page 81 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 66 of 152 Page ID #:4084 1 REPORTER'S CERTIFICATE 2 3 4 I, CAROLYN ANN PETERSON, Certified Shorthand Reporter, do hereby certify: 5 That prior to being examined, the witness in 6 the foregoing proceeding was by me duly sworn to testify 7 to the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 8 truth. 9 That said proceedings were taken before me at 10 the time and place therein set forth and were taken down 11 by me stenographically at the time and place therein 12 named and thereafter reduced to computerized 13 transcription under my direction and supervision; 14 I further certify that I am neither counsel 15 for nor related to any party in said proceedings, nor in 16 any way interested in the outcome thereof. 17 18 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto subscribed my name this date: SEPTEMBER 25, 2019. 19 20 21 22 <%17893,Signature%> CAROLYN ANN PETERSON, CSR 3195 23 24 25 Page 86 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 67 of 152 Page ID #:4085 EXHIBIT 11 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 68 of 152 Page ID #:4086 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA OMAR ARNOLDO RIVERA MARTINEZ; ISAAC ANTONIO LOPEZ CASTILLO; JOSUE VLADIMIR CORTEZ DIAZ; JOSUE MATEO LEMUS CAMPOS; MARVIN JOSUE GRANDE RODRIGUEZ; ALEXANDER ANTONIO BURGOS MEJIA; LUIS PENA GARCIA; JULIO CESAR BARAHONA CORNEJO, as individuals, ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) vs. ) ) THE GEO GROUP, INC., a Florida ) corporation; THE CITY OF ADELANTO, ) a municipal entity; GEO LIEUTENANT ) DURAN, sued in her individual ) capacity; GEO LIEUTENANT DIAZ, ) sued in her individual capacity; ) GEO SERGEANT CAMPOS, sued in his ) individual capacity; SARAH JONES, ) sued in her individual capacity; ) THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; and ) DOES 1-10, individuals, ) ) Defendants. ) ___________________________________) CASE NO. 5:18-cv-01125-SP DEPOSITION OF JAMES JANECKA ONTARIO, CALIFORNIA WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 REPORTED BY: Carolyn Ann Peterson CSR No. 3195 Pages 1- 112 Page 1 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 69 of 152 Page ID #:4087 1 whole facility or just portions of it? 2 A Portions at a time. 3 Q How did you decide where to walk through when 4 5 you would do your walk-through? A It depends where I was at the time. Just try 6 to hit different areas, living areas and different 7 departments on different days. 8 9 Q When you did a walk-through, would you carry any kind of notebook or material with you so you can 10 document if someone told you something you want to 11 remember? 12 A Sometimes carried little three-by-five cards. 13 Q Just cards? 14 A Yes. 15 Q Yes? 16 A Yes. 17 Q During those walk-throughs in June of 2017, if 18 a detainee did make a complaint to you verbally, would 19 you document it? 20 A Not necessarily. 21 Q How would you make the decision in June of 22 2007 whether or not to document a complaint that a 23 detainee made to you? 24 25 A It would be if it was an urgent matter, if it was something that was what I would consider a serious Page 32 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 70 of 152 Page ID #:4088 1 matter versus something that could easily be taken care 2 of right on the spot. 3 Q What would you do with the information that 4 the detainees gave you when they made their complaints 5 to you? 6 A If it was something that a certain department 7 needed to maybe give me some information or provide to 8 the detainee, I would contact that department or that 9 individual. 10 Q 11 How would you contact them telephonically, e-mail, some other way? 12 A Majority is telephonically. 13 Q So there were telephones at Adelanto? 14 A Yes. 15 Q Were telephones the primary way that you 16 communicated with people at Adelanto that weren't in the 17 direct vicinity of where you were? 18 June of 2017. I'm talking about 19 A Yes. 20 Q Other than contacting people via telephone, 21 would you communicate with them in any other way? 22 example, written or walking up to them to have a 23 conversation about it? 24 25 A For Sometimes personally face-to-face, sometimes e-mail. Page 33 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 71 of 152 Page ID #:4089 1 2 3 A my hours, when I get there and when I go home. Q 4 5 I don't have a written schedule that tells me Oh, okay. That's a nice gig. I'm sure when you are not there, you also have to be reachable because you are the Warden, correct? 6 A Correct. 7 Q In terms of being reachable, how are you 8 reachable when you are not at Adelanto? 9 A My cell phone, my home phone. 10 Q Have there been instances since you have been 11 Warden at Adelanto that you have been called either on 12 your cell phone or home phone before or after hours? 13 A Yes. 14 Q Would you say that is infrequent, a normal 15 occurrence, or frequent? 16 A It's periodically. 17 Q Can you just give me an example of the types 18 of things that the staff will call you for when you are 19 not at the facility? 20 21 22 A It would have to do with some sort of serious incident. Q If there's a serious incident that happens 23 when you are not at the facility, are staff required to 24 contact you as the Warden? 25 A Depending on the level of the severity, yes. Page 59 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 72 of 152 Page ID #:4090 1 Q If there's an incident that is going to 2 ultimately require use of force, and you are not at 3 Adelanto -- by use of force, I'm specifically referring 4 to the use of pepper spray -- are staff required to 5 contact you even though you are not at the facility? 6 7 MS. AGUADO: hypothetical. 8 9 10 Objection, incomplete THE WITNESS: It depends if it's an immediate or calculated use of force. BY MS. STEINBACK: 11 Q Can you tell me the difference between those 13 A Yes. 14 Q What is that? 15 A Immediate use of force is if an incident 12 two? 16 happens right in front of you, verbal commands are not 17 effective at the moment and are not appropriate due to 18 the need to protect yourself or others. 19 20 21 And a calculated use of force can be in an area that you have time to make a notification. Q So if a staff member is in a situation where 22 they have time to make a notification, they are required 23 to contact you, even if you are off duty at home? 24 MS. AGUADO: 25 Go ahead. Incomplete hypothetical. Page 60 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 73 of 152 Page ID #:4091 1 you have time to make the notification, but if that 2 individual was to start making gestures or it appears 3 that it's imminent, that's it's going to happen, then 4 you can initiate the use of force with OC spray as to 5 protect self-harm, prior to making any notification. 6 Q In that situation where you need to initiate 7 before making a notification, at what point are the 8 staff required to contact you to let you know this has 9 occurred? 10 A Typically I get a phone call from the 11 Administrative Duty Officer within an hour or two of 12 the incident. 13 Q What is an Administrative Duty Officer? 14 A Its an individual that carries the 15 administrative duty through the weekends and after 16 hours, they are the first contact. 17 Q Is that individual at Adelanto? 18 A Yes. 19 Q So is there always an Administrative Duty 20 Officer at Adelanto? 21 A Yes. 22 Q Is that person's function essentially to be 23 your surrogate when you are not there? 24 A Yes. 25 Q In June of 2017, do you know, was there one Page 62 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 74 of 152 Page ID #:4092 1 2 3 resources that are at the facility. Q Have you -- since you began your tenure at Adelanto, have there been any rebellions? 4 A No. 5 Q Since you began your tenure at Adelanto 6 Detention Center, have there been any riots? 7 A No. 8 Q Since you began your tenure at Adelanto 9 Detention Center, have there been any attempted 10 rebellions? 11 A Can you be more specific? 12 Q Sure. I have seen in a number of policy 13 documents reference to rebellions and riots or attempted 14 rebellions and riots, so actually maybe I need to ask 15 you, what does that mean? 16 rebellion? 17 A What is an attempted If you are referring to the emergency plan, it 18 would be a major -- a large group of individuals that 19 were there would rebel or try to maybe overtake an area 20 of the institution. 21 Q Okay. So no, there has not been any. In June of 2017, you previously said 22 that you were required to report serious incidents to 23 ICE, correct? 24 A Correct. 25 Q When there was a use of force -- strike that. Page 68 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 75 of 152 Page ID #:4093 1 Did a use of force constitute a serious 2 incident that would be -- you would be required to 3 report to ICE in June of 2017? 4 A Yes. 5 Q Is that true for all uses of force? 6 A Yes. 7 Q How do you report those uses of force to ICE? 8 9 10 11 12 By that, what documentation would you relay to ICE? A Could be an e-mail, could be verbal -- and ICE is involved with the after-action review. Q What was the purpose of reporting use of force to ICE, if you know? 13 A It's a contractual requirement. 14 Q It was your understanding that ICE would then 15 do something with that information? 16 MS. AGUADO: 17 THE WITNESS: Objection, calls for speculation. I don't know ICE's processes. 18 don't get involved if they have reporting requirements 19 and what their timeframes are. 20 their processes. 21 BY MS. STEINBACK: 22 Q Okay. I I'm not familiar with Is it fair to say you don't know why 23 you gave the documentation or reported the information 24 to ICE, other than because it was contractually required 25 of you? Page 69 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 76 of 152 Page ID #:4094 1 2 Is this an e-mail that was sent by you. Correct? 3 4 A Report System. 5 6 It's part of the SIR System, Serious Incident Q So was this e-mail automatically generated by the SIR System? 7 A Yes. 8 Q So is it accurate to say this e-mail, like the 9 10 e-mail marked as Exhibit 4, was sent to the individuals according to the SIR? 11 12 A it. This is the initial entry by whoever entered I'm talking Exhibit 4. 13 Q Okay. 14 A It appears that Leo McCusker entered the 15 initial serious incident, okay, and this is where I 16 actually transmitted formally to corporate. 17 two-step process. 18 19 Q It's a And this is how it was done routinely in June of 2017? 20 A Yes. 21 Q It's the use of force process? 22 A Yes. 23 Q Before transmitting the SIR to corporate, did 24 you review the information that was inputted to that SIR 25 in any way? Page 80 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 77 of 152 Page ID #:4095 1 2 Is this an e-mail that was sent by you. Correct? 3 4 A Report System. 5 6 It's part of the SIR System, Serious Incident Q So was this e-mail automatically generated by the SIR System? 7 A Yes. 8 Q So is it accurate to say this e-mail, like the 9 10 e-mail marked as Exhibit 4, was sent to the individuals according to the SIR? 11 12 A it. This is the initial entry by whoever entered I'm talking Exhibit 4. 13 Q Okay. 14 A It appears that Leo McCusker entered the 15 initial serious incident, okay, and this is where I 16 actually transmitted formally to corporate. 17 two-step process. 18 19 Q It's a And this is how it was done routinely in June of 2017? 20 A Yes. 21 Q It's the use of force process? 22 A Yes. 23 Q Before transmitting the SIR to corporate, did 24 you review the information that was inputted to that SIR 25 in any way? Page 80 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 78 of 152 Page ID #:4096 1 A Yes. 2 Q What was that review? 3 A I looked at the narrative of the SIR. If I 4 need any clarification or further information, I'll ask 5 for it before I transmit it. 6 7 8 Q And once its finalized, and you feel that its ready, then you transmit it to corporate? A 9 Myself or one of the other administrators. MS. STEINBACK: I'm handing the deponent a 10 document that has been marked Exhibit 6, which is 11 Bates-stamped GEO 02226 through 02233. 12 (Whereupon Exhibit 6 was marked for 13 identification by the Court Reporter 14 And is attached hereto.) 15 16 17 BY MS. STEINBACK: Q Is this the serious incident report that you have been discussing throughout your testimony? 18 A Yes. 19 Q Is this a template created by GEO Corporate? 20 A Yes. 21 Q Who is supposed to -- according to GEO's 22 policies and practices, who is supposed to input the 23 information into the SIR? 24 A It starts with the shift supervisor level. 25 Q So the shift supervisor is the first one who Page 81 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 79 of 152 Page ID #:4097 1 is supposed to input information about this serious 2 incident into this report? 3 A Yes. 4 Q What information is the shift supervisor 5 required to input into the report in order to make it a 6 complete and accurate report? 7 A The narrative, the type of incident, 8 participants, the date, the time that the client was 9 notified, and then some of the details of the actual 10 11 incident. Q Would it be accurate to say that the shift 12 supervisor should go through each of the categories of 13 information in this template, and if it applies to the 14 incident, should input information responsive to the 15 category into his report? 16 A Yes, if they have got the information. 17 Q And that's incorporated within GEO's policies 18 and practices? 19 A Yes. 20 Q And that's for purposes to generate a complete 21 and accurate report, correct? 22 A Yes. 23 Q So, for example, I'm just looking at the page, 24 Bates-stamped at the bottom GEO 02229. For example, if 25 an inmate had escaped during the course of this serious Page 82 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 80 of 152 Page ID #:4098 1 incident, the shift supervisor would be required to 2 input information under escape information, correct? 3 A Yes. 4 Q Similarly, underneath that, if there was 5 exposure information, the shift supervisor would be 6 required to input that information into the report? 7 A Yes. 8 Q After the shift supervisor has input 9 10 information into this report, what happens to it? A It goes to a review mode. The notification -- 11 once they enter the information, there's a notification 12 that goes out to the distribution list. 13 back to Exhibit 4 -- that is the initial notification, 14 so it's there for review, and then it will be 15 transmitted by one of the Administrators -- myself or 16 one of the other Administrators. 17 Q And I can go After that initial notification to the list, 18 that is contained in Exhibit 4, are the individuals on 19 that list permitted to go in and review this serious 20 incident report to make sure the information that's 21 needed to be in there is in there? 22 A As Facility Administrator, other individuals 23 that are in that distribution list, I don't know their 24 accesses. 25 Q Are the administrators of the facility Page 83 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 81 of 152 Page ID #:4099 1 A Correct. 2 Q Does that indicate that it has been 3 transmitted? 4 A It's status was. 5 Q But that doesn't indicate who it is that 6 It's transmitted, yes. transmitted the documents? 7 A No. 8 Q Should there be a category in this form that 9 states who transmitted the document? 10 A Not that I know of. 11 Q So looking at this report, its not possible to 12 tell who finalized and signed off on the report? 13 A Not that I can tell. 14 Q Are those your initials on the first page over 15 your e-mail address? 16 A Yes. 17 Q Why did you initial it? 18 A I initial every one. My secretary prints 19 them, and once they get sent and transmitted into their 20 database, my name appears on every one of them as being 21 the Facility Administrator. 22 secretary brings them to me periodically, and I sign 23 them. 24 25 Q So each one of them, my What happens with the document after you sign it? Page 85 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 82 of 152 Page ID #:4100 1 Q Other than meeting the 14-day physical 2 examination requirement, what other medical care issues 3 have been brought to your attention as being not 4 compliant with PBNDS? 5 A I don't remember specifically. There were a 6 couple issues with meetings, sick calls, timelines, and 7 I don't remember the specifics of all the findings. 8 9 10 Q If the facility is not compliant with the PBNDS, is it your ultimate responsibility to ensure that it gets into compliance, because you are the Warden? 11 A Ultimately, yes. 12 Q Other than ICE's inspection of Adelanto, have 13 there been any other scheduled or unscheduled 14 inspections from outside entities at Adelanto since you 15 have been the Warden? 16 A Yes. 17 Q What other outside entities have performed 18 19 scheduled inspections at Adelanto? A We had Civil Rights, Civil Liberties, 20 Disability Rights of California, Office of Detention 21 Oversight, Office of Inspector General, ICE Health 22 Services Core. 23 been several. 24 25 We have had Nakamoto Group -- there's MS. AGUADO: For purpose of this deposition, just limit it to certain inspections of certain Page 93 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 83 of 152 Page ID #:4101 1 up the privacy curtains, much to the detainees 2 disagreement, but that's been enforced, and that's no 3 longer allowed, and we no longer restrain detainees on a 4 routine basis in the disciplinary side of special 5 management, strictly on a case-by-case basis if someone 6 is acting out. 7 8 9 Q Have you made any other changes in response to the OIG report? A I don't recall each specific finding at this 10 time, so I don't want to misspeak if we made other 11 changes. 12 Q When you say, "We made changes," are you 13 talking about specifically at Adelanto, or did GEO 14 Corporate make those changes? 15 A Specifically at Adelanto. 16 Q Who is the person authorized to make those 17 changes at Adelanto? Was it you? 18 A Me. 19 Q On the GEO side, it would be because you are 20 21 the final decision-maker at Adelanto for GEO, correct? A 22 23 Me in coordination with ICE. Correct. MS. STEINBACK: Can we go off the record a minute? 24 MS. AGUADO: Sure. 25 (Short recess was taken.) Page 102 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 84 of 152 Page ID #:4102 1 2 Q So you don't recall whether you wait 72 hours and then at that point create the SIR? 3 A I don't recall. 4 Q Okay. 5 But at some point, you create an SIR when the hunger strike has been verified? 6 A Correct. 7 Q You would send -- would you send that in the 8 same use of force report through the SIR database? 9 A Correct. 10 Q And then the e-mail notification, just like 11 with the use-of-force SIR? 12 A Correct. 13 Q Other than reporting a hunger strike to ICE, 14 would you also be required to report it to the City of 15 Adelanto? 16 A No. 17 Q And to be clear, in June of 2017, were you 18 required to report any serious incident to the City of 19 Adelanto? 20 A I have never been required to. 21 Q In June of 2017, were you required to report 22 anything about the facility to the City of Adelanto? 23 A No. 24 Q You already testified that the City of 25 Adelanto did not perform any inspections of Adelanto Page 107 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 85 of 152 Page ID #:4103 1 during your tenure as Warden. 2 Did they ever come over for meetings? 3 A Periodically. 4 Q What was the purpose of those meetings? 5 A A few of the city council members would attend 6 our quarterly Community Advisory Board Meetings. 7 Q What is the Community Advisory Board Meeting? 8 A They are comprised of individuals from the 9 community. Some of them are -- we have local government 10 officials, some are local business owners, or some are 11 editors in the area, and there's general meeting to 12 discuss what goes on in all of our different areas. 13 Q Are those meetings run by the GEO Group? 14 A Yes. 15 Q What's the purpose of those meetings? 16 A Its for community relations. 17 Q So it's not like the City in attending the 18 meetings had the ability to approve or deny something 19 that GEO was doing at Adelanto? 20 A No. 21 Q They are basically information-sharing 22 meetings, would that be fair to say -- 23 A Yes. 24 Q -- that were open to the community? 25 A Yes. Page 108 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 86 of 152 Page ID #:4104 EXHIBIT 12 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 87 of 152 Page ID #:4105 UNITED STATES D]STRICT FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF 1 y" "'T 2 COURT CAL I FORN IA 3 4 OMAR ARNOLDO R]VERA MART]NEZ, ) NO. 5:18-cv-01.125 et dL. , ) 5 Pl-aintiffs, 6 R-GJS ) CERNFIED ) TRANSCffiT ) ) 7 THE GEO GROUP, INC., et al., ) b Defendants. 9 ) ) 10 11 ,s 'r) i t2 13 DEPOSIT]ON OF JESSIE FLORES Riverside, California Friday, June 28, 20I9 1.4 15 16 L1 1B 1,9 20 2I 22 23 24 25 q'+ ii Reported by: Heidi Hummel--Grant CSR No. 12556 TI4 PAGES 1 Page Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 1, Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 88 of 152 Page ID #:4106 1 A I'm sorry. 2 Q Sorry. 3 A I've been in this capacity ever since. 4 Q When did that happen? 5 A August of 2018. 6 Q And is your current status still interim City Go ahead. 10:00 Complete your answer? 10:00 7 manager, or have you been appointed more permanently 8 now? 9 A Yes, I've been appointed more permanently. 10 Q When did that happen? 11 A November of 2018. 12 Q Is one of your current job duties liaising with 13 GEO Group? 14 A No. 15 Q Is one of your current job duties inspecting the 16 A No. 18 Q Is there someone at the City responsible for inspecting the Adelanto Detention Facility? 20 A No. 21 Q Is there someone at the City responsible for 22 10:01 Adelanto Detention Facility? 17 19 10:01 10:02 liaising with the GEO Group? 23 A No. 24 Q Does the GEO Group ever communicate with you? 25 A Yes. 10:02 Page 15 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 89 of 152 Page ID #:4107 1 2 knowledge or dates on the contract? THE WITNESS: 3 10:31 Dates on the contract. Well, they both appear to have the same dates. 4 MS. SWEETSER: 5 Q Is one -- 6 A Correction one's 17th and 27th, sorry. 7 Q So it looks like the services contract was 10:31 8 entered into and then the MOU was entered into; is that 9 correct? 10 A Yes. 11 Q Have you spoken with Mr. Hart about this 12 10:31 correct? 13 A No. 14 Q Is it your understanding that at the time the 15 City entered into this contract it had already executed 16 an intergovernmental services agreement with ICE? 17 A I don't know. 18 Q Is there someone at the City who would know? 19 A No. 20 Q And that's because Mr. Hart left the City? 21 A Yes. 22 Q Just looking at the face of the contract there's 23 a number of whereas provisions at the front. 24 like the contract is specifying that GEO Group would act 25 as a subcontractor for the City. 10:32 10:32 It looks 10:32 Page 36 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 90 of 152 Page ID #:4108 1 A Yes. 10:36 2 Q This contract further required that the service 3 provider adopt a quality assurance surveillance plan; is 4 that right? 5 A Yes. 10:36 6 Q And when the contract refers to the service 7 provider, they're referring to the City of Adelanto; is 8 that correct? 9 A Yes. 10 Q In your role as the City manager have you ever 11 had contact with the ICE contracting officer's technical 12 representative? 13 A No. 14 Q Do you know if your predecessors in your 15 position ever had contact with the contracting officer's 16 technical representative? 17 A I don't. 18 Q Do you know if there's any procedure or process 19 at the City to get in touch with COTR, which I'll 20 represent to you is the contracting officer's technical 21 representative? 22 A For ICE? 23 Q For ICE. 24 A No. 25 Q Do you have the contact information for that 10:36 10:36 10:37 10:37 Page 39 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 91 of 152 Page ID #:4109 1 A No. 10:38 2 Q Did any employee of the City of Adelanto review 3 documents such as post logs, policies and records of 4 corrective action created by GEO Group? 5 A No. 6 Q Was there any mechanism in place at the City to 7 8 9 10 10:39 ensure that GEO was creating this documentation? A We contracted with GEO to provide all of these services for the City of Adelanto. Q So if they didn't provide these documents, they 11 would be in breach of the contract the City had with 12 them; correct? 13 A 14 MS. AGUADO: 15 I don't know. MS. SWEETSER: 18 Q 20 10:39 But go ahead, which you already did. 17 19 Objection, belated, to legal conclusion. 16 Was it your understanding that the contract required GEO Group to create such documentation? A It's my understanding that we contracted with 21 GEO to maintain all documentations, policies, procedure 22 and oversee the facility on behalf of the City. 23 24 25 10:39 Q 10:39 Do you know if when Ms. Herrera visited the facility if she looked at documentation? MS. AGUADO: Assumes facts. Lacks foundation. 10:40 Page 41 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 92 of 152 Page ID #:4110 1 A Federal, state and local. 2 Q Which federal agencies do you know frequent the 3 facility? 4 A Well, we've had a number of legislatures and 5 county representatives attend -- attend meetings at the 6 detention center and tour the facility, all the way from 7 Dianne Feinstein's representatives to our state 8 assemblyman, our senate, senators themselves and/or 9 their representatives. 10 Q Besides elected officials and their staff, are 11 there other federal agencies you're aware of inspecting 12 the facility? 13 14 A 10:43 10:44 Yes, the attorney general's office it's my understanding is there on a regular basis. 15 Q How did you reach that understanding? 16 A They -- the attorney general's office has 17 visited the City of Adelanto and has made that clear to 18 us. 19 Q Did they meet with you to discuss the facility? 20 A Yes. 21 Q Did they discuss the quality of training at the 22 facility? 23 A I don't remember. 24 Q Did they discuss generally whether the 25 10:43 10:44 10:44 performance-based national detention standards are being 10:45 Page 44 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 93 of 152 Page ID #:4111 1 followed at the facility? 10:45 2 A I'm sorry? 3 Q Did the AG's office discuss with City officials 4 whether the performance-based national detention 5 standards were being followed? 10:45 6 A Yes. 7 Q And what do you remember them saying about that? 8 A I don't remember. 9 Q Do you remember any deficiencies they 10 identified? 10:45 11 A Yes. 12 Q What were those. 13 A I believe there were healthcare issues that they 14 were concerned about, the inmates not receiving adequate 15 healthcare services. That's what comes to mind. 10:45 16 Q Do you remember when that meeting took place? 17 A January, February of this year, 2019. 18 Q Was there an OIG report being discussed? 19 A Yes. 20 Q When did the OIG report first come to your 21 10:46 attention? 22 A Beginning of this year. 23 Q Did you discuss corrective actions that could be 24 25 taken at the facility? MS. AGUADO: Objection. This is irrelevant. It has 10:46 Page 45 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 94 of 152 Page ID #:4112 1 THE WITNESS: 2 MS. TISHKOFF: 3 MS. SWEETSER: 4 Q Your answer was no? 5 A My answer was no. 6 Q How many meetings did you have with the attorney 7 No. 10:47 It's irrelevant. 10:48 general's office about the OIG report? 8 A Two. 9 Q Were they both in January and February of 2019? 10 A Yes. 11 Q At those meetings did you discuss whether 10:48 12 detainees had previously raised concerns about the 13 medical care? 14 A Yes. 15 Q What did you discuss about that? 16 A There was no discussion. 17 18 19 It was just brought to our attention what the complaint was. Q Did you look at anything such as a grievance log for the facility? 20 A 21 MS. AGUADO: No. 22 Go ahead. 23 MS. SWEETSER: 24 Q 25 10:48 10:49 Assumes facts. Lacks foundation. You've already answered. Did you look at any past grievances that had been presented from the facility? 10:49 Page 47 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 95 of 152 Page ID #:4113 1 discussed, were there any other meetings you had with 2 the attorney general or their office about the facility? 3 A No. 4 Q Were there are any other federal agencies that 5 have requested to meet with City officials about the 6 facility? 7 A No. 8 Q You said you haven't met before with the COTR 9 A Correct. 11 Q Do you know if the people you met with from the 10:54 attorney general's office, what their department was? 13 A No. 14 Q And going back to what we were talking about, 15 annual meetings with local, state and federal officials, 16 was there any annual meeting with the City officials to 17 discuss the execution of contract by GEO? 18 A No. 19 Q Was there any kind of quality control review of 20 21 10:54 for the facility; correct? 10 12 10:54 how GEO was performing under the contract? MS. AGUADO: 22 Objection. It's vague. 10:55 10:55 Ambiguous. Go ahead. 23 THE WITNESS: 24 MS. SWEETSER: 25 Q What's the question, I'm sorry? Was there any kind of review or quality control 10:55 Page 51 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 96 of 152 Page ID #:4114 1 plan by the City to assess how GEO was performing the 2 contract? 3 A GEO performed all of -- we hired GEO to perform 4 all of those tasks, duties or responsibilities on our 5 behalf. 6 Q The City of Adelanto's behalf. assessment by the City of how the -- whether the 8 performance was happening? 10 11 A We relied on GEO to perform all of those responsibilities on our behalf. Q whether they were performing it in accordance with the 13 terms? 14 A I don't know. 15 Q As far as you're aware there was no such 17 10:56 mechanism? MS. AGUADO: And aside from what he's already 18 discussed the federal agencies giving notice of issues 19 or something more specific? 20 MS. SWEETSER: 21 Q I'm asking about City mechanisms. assessment or quality control mechanism to determine 23 whether GEO was performing the contract the way -- in 24 complying with the terms? A 10:56 As far as you're aware was there any City 22 25 10:56 So the City didn't have any mechanism to assess 12 16 10:56 Was there any kind of quality control or 7 9 10:55 No, we relied on GEO for -- to oversee the 10:57 Page 52 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 97 of 152 Page ID #:4115 1 2 3 4 detention center or behalf of the City of Adelanto. Q Did any City employee ever review training documents from the GEO Group? MS. AGUADO: 5 Calls for speculation. If you know. THE WITNESS: 7 MS. SWEETSER: 8 Q You're not aware of any such -- 9 A I'm not. 10 Q Did any City employee ever review training 12 13 No. 10:57 6 11 Actually, I don't know. MS. AGUADO: Lacks foundation. Assumes facts. Calls for speculation. THE WITNESS: 15 MS. SWEETSER: 16 Q You're not aware of any such review? 17 A I'm not. 18 Q Are you aware that at some point GEO Group I don't know. 10:58 subcontracted its healthcare at the facility? 20 A That's my understanding. 21 Q Did the City have any say in whether or not that 22 10:58 healthcare was subcontracted? 23 A No. 24 Q There's no provision in the contract that you're 25 10:57 documents from Correct Care Solutions? 14 19 10:57 aware of that would limit subcontracting by the 10:58 Page 53 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 98 of 152 Page ID #:4116 1 Q Do you know under this agreement did the 11:26 2 San Bernardino Sheriff's Department have an obligation 3 to make City employees aware of problems at the 4 facility? 5 MS. AGUADO: The agreement between the City and the 6 police department or the sheriff's department? 7 what you're talking about? 8 MS. SWEETSER: 9 Q 10 11:26 Is that Yes. Did the sheriff's department have an obligation to notify the City of problems with the facility? 11 A 12 MS. AGUADO: 11:26 I'm sure they -What category does that fall under? I 13 don't believe there's a category related to agreements 14 between the City and the San Bernardino County 15 Sheriff's Department. 16 MS. SWEETSER: 17 Q 11:27 So let me ask it a different way. I understand that you had a memorandum of 18 understanding with the GEO Group about the provision of 19 sheriff's department services; is that correct? 20 A Yes. 11:27 21 Q And that's what's reflected in Exhibit 10? 22 A Where are you looking now? 23 Q Just in general is this a memorandum that 24 reflects an agreement about the provision of 25 San Bernardino Sheriff's Department's services -- 11:27 Page 63 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 99 of 152 Page ID #:4117 1 A Yes. 2 Q -- at the facility? 3 11:27 Do you know if there was any obligation under 4 this agreement that the sheriff's department notify the 5 City of any problems at the facility? 6 A 11:27 I don't know if there was an obligation, but the 7 sheriff's department is very responsible. 8 was an incident that rose to that level, I'm certain 9 that they would report that to us. 10 11 Q And if there Have you reviewed anything in this case, any incident reports, by the sheriff's department? 12 A No. 13 Q Have you seen any incident reports transmitted 14 15 11:28 about the facility to the City? MS. AGUADO: Lacks foundation. Assumes facts that 16 any reports would be transmitted if there was any 17 issues to record on. 18 But go ahead. 19 THE WITNESS: 20 MS. SWEETSER: 21 Q 11:28 I'm sorry, question? 11:28 Have you ever seen any incident reports about 22 the facility transmitted to the City by the sheriff's 23 department? 24 A No. 25 Q Was it your understanding that under this MOU -- 11:29 Page 64 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 100 of 152 Page ID #:4118 1 were discussed? 11:44 2 A No. 3 Q What was what -- what is a quarterly meeting? 4 A There's -- they give reports as to -- they give 5 a report on their activities at the detention center. 6 don't remember the specifics. 7 from within GEO. 8 thereafter -- this was a couple of years ago. Q Was it in 2017? 10 A I think so. There was a guest speaker '17. Could have -- it could have 11 been early '18. 12 Elliott's term as City manager. 13 he was City manager. 15 Q I don't remember. 11:45 It was during Or just during the time When you say you heard them give reports on their activities, what activities were they discussing? 16 A I don't remember. 17 Q Were they discussing the -- the food provided to 18 11:44 And then there was a tour shortly 9 14 I 11:45 detainees? 19 A No. No. 20 Q Sorry. 21 A I was going to say although they did serve food Go ahead. 11:45 22 cooked by the detainees. I don't recall what the topic 23 was. 24 thereafter, the entire crew. 25 from local level, state, federal, county. We did take a tour of the facility shortly There was representation And shortly 11:46 Page 74 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 101 of 152 Page ID #:4119 1 thereafter we all took a tour of the facility. 2 all I recall. 3 Q That's And when you say it was a quarterly meeting, did 4 they have meetings like this at the facility four times 5 a year? 6 A 11:46 I believe it's one of the same ones. 7 been to one since then. 8 I couldn't make it. 9 Council attend that meeting. I haven't There was one just yesterday. So we had our members of our City There were three Council 10 members that attended yesterday's quarterly meeting. 11 All of our Council members are involved in these 12 quarterly meetings. 13 14 Q organizes the meeting? A I don't know. 16 Q Do you get emails about these meetings? 17 A Yes. 18 Q Do the emails come from GEO Group? 19 A It's a quarterly invitation that is sent to our 11:47 20 office from one of the GEO representatives. 21 possibly be their executive staff. 23 11:46 Is there a particular person at GEO Group who 15 22 11:46 Q It could 11:47 Do you know if -- at the meeting you attended who the guest speaker was? 24 A (Indicating.) 25 Q Do you remember -- I'm sorry, you have to give 11:47 Page 75 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 102 of 152 Page ID #:4120 1 Q 2 Does it involve -- excuse me. 11:49 Does it involve observing any detainees? 3 A Yes. 4 Q On the tour you were on, do you remember what 5 you were seeing detainees doing? 11:49 6 A Interacting with each other. 7 Q Do you go into the dormitories on the tour? 8 A Not into the dormitory, but there's a glass that 9 10 11 12 separates the hallway from the dorm. windows. Q 11:49 Do you know about how long the quarterly meeting usually lasts? 13 A 14 MS. AGUADO: 15 16 Or a wall with Over -He said he only went to one. So I guess the one meeting he went to. THE WITNESS: The one meeting I went to was over an 17 hour. Correct. 18 hour. The meeting was an hour, and then it concluded 19 with a tour of the facility. 20 guess approximately two hours. 21 MS. SWEETSER: 22 Q 23 meetings? 24 A 25 11:49 The one meeting I went to was over an So I'm just going to 11:50 Are all Council members always invited to these Yes. They're all part of the existing board, the quarterly meeting board. And they also have access 11:50 Page 77 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 103 of 152 Page ID #:4121 1 Q When you referred to the contract as a 2 pass-through before, what were you referring to passing 3 through? 4 A My understanding is that at the time when the 5 City wanted to contract or contractual agreement with 6 GEO, shortly thereafter GEO went into contract with ICE. 7 However, at that time it was a conflict of interest for 8 Geo to bill ICE directly. 9 that time as the City being the pass-through for the 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 the City would then pay that rate to GEO? A I believe so. I believe that was the contract agreed upon back in 2010 or '11. Q And then GEO would pay the 1.1 million in fees that we mentioned before? Yeah. 12:24 Fees and taxes to the City? A 18 fees. 19 Q You just had an estimate it was around 1.1? 20 A That's -- yes. 21 Q And under this contract from 2011 there was a And I don't know if those were the exact I don't recall what numbers those are. Could be less. Could be more. 12:24 certain minimum staffing at the facility; is that right? 23 A Yes. 24 Q Did the City do anything to ensure that the 25 12:23 So would ICE pay the City the bed day rate and 17 22 12:23 So there was an agreement at revenues received either between GEO and ICE or ICE GEO. Q 12:23 minimum number of staff were at the facility? 12:25 Page 97 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 104 of 152 Page ID #:4122 1 2 Q Are there any agencies you know of visiting the facility that we haven't already discussed? 3 A 4 MS. SWEETSER: Can we go off the record? 5 THE REPORTER: We're off the record. 6 No. MS. SWEETSER: 8 Q Have you ever reviewed any policy manual that GEO produced to you? 10 A No. 11 Q Do you know whether the City maintains records 12 12:44 of the current policy manuals at the facility? 13 A Yes. 14 Q Who maintains those records? 15 A That would be the City clerk. 16 Q How are -- what City employees reviewed those 17 18 19 12:44 manuals? A We have records. We just -- I don't know who reviews them. 20 Q Do you know if anyone has reviewed them? 21 A I don't know. 22 Q Is there any annual or quarterly meeting where 23 12:29 (A recess is taken.) 7 9 12:28 12:44 the City goes over the policy manuals with GEO? 24 A I don't know. 25 Q During your time at the City has there been such 12:45 Page 100 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 105 of 152 Page ID #:4123 1 Certification of Court Reporter 2 Federal Jurat 3 4 5 6 I, the undersigned, a Certified Shorthand Reporter of the State of California do hereby certify: That the foregoing proceedings were taken 7 before me at the time and place herein set forth; that 8 any witnesses in the foregoing proceedings, prior to 9 testifying, were placed under oath; that a verbatim 10 record of the proceedings was made by me using machine 11 shorthand, which was thereafter transcribed under my 12 direction; further, that the foregoing is an accurate 13 transcription thereof. 14 15 16 That before completion of the deposition a review of the transcript was requested. I further certify that I am neither 17 financially interested in the action nor a relative or 18 employee of any of the parties. 19 20 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I hereby subscribe my name this 13th day of July, 2019. 21 22 23 <%15048,Signature%> 24 Heidi Hummel-Grant 25 Certified Shorthand Reporter No. 12556 Page 114 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 106 of 152 Page ID #:4124 EXHIBIT 13 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 107 of 152 Page ID #:4125 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA OMAR ARNOLDO RIVERA MARTINEZ; ISAAC ANTONIO LOPEZ CASTILLO; JOSUE VLADIMIR CORTEZ DIAZ; JOSUE MATEO LEMUS CAMPOS; MARVIN JOSUE GRANDE RODRIGUEZ; ALEXANDER ANTONIO BURGOS MEJIA; LUIS PENA GARCIA; JULIO CESAR BARAHONA CORNEJO, as individuals, ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) vs. ) ) THE GEO GROUP, INC., a Florida ) corporation; THE CITY OF ADELANTO, ) a municipal entity; GEO LIEUTENANT ) DURAN, sued in her individual ) capacity; GEO LIEUTENANT DIAZ, ) sued in her individual capacity; ) GEO SERGEANT CAMPOS, sued in his ) individual capacity; SARAH JONES, ) sued in her individual capacity; ) THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; and ) DOES 1-10, individuals, ) ) Defendants. ) ___________________________________) CASE NO. 5:18-cv-01125-SP DEPOSITION OF JOANNE LANGILL SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2019 REPORTED BY: Carolyn Ann Peterson CSR No. 3195 Pages 1 -84 Page 1 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 108 of 152 Page ID #:4126 1 A Yes. 2 Q Okay. 3 4 Thank you. Did you discuss this deposition with anyone other than your attorney? 5 A No. 6 Q Did you meet with your attorney to prepare for 7 the deposition? 8 A Yes. 9 Q Without telling me anything that you 10 discussed, how long did you meet with your attorney? 11 A Probably about 10, 15 minutes. 12 Q Was that today? 13 A No. 14 Q So that was some occasion prior to today? 15 A Yes. 16 Q You did not discuss this deposition with 17 anyone currently at GEO? 18 A No. 19 Q No one at Adelanto? 20 A No. 21 Q How long have you been the Compliance 22 Administrator at Adelanto? 23 A It would be four years. 24 Q What are your responsibilities as the 25 Compliance Administrator? Page 10 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 109 of 152 Page ID #:4127 1 Q Has there ever been a description that you 2 have observed as the Compliance Administrator where a 3 review was done of an after-action report and a 4 different conclusion was reached as to the propriety 5 report of use-of-force? 6 A No. 7 Q Other than the Chief of Security, who exactly 8 is responsible for reviewing the file before sending it 9 out to ICE? 10 A The Facility Administrator. 11 Q And I think you said the Facility 12 Administrator gives it to the Chief of Security, whoever 13 does the final review before giving it to ICE; is that 14 correct? 15 A Yes. 16 Q During the time that you have been Compliance 17 Administrator, has the City of Adelanto at any point 18 come into the facility for purposes of conducting an 19 audit? 20 A No. 21 Q During the time that you have been Compliance 22 Administrator has the City of Adelanto come into the 23 facility to do any sort of review of the policies -- 24 A No. 25 Q -- that are governing the facility? Page 56 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 110 of 152 Page ID #:4128 1 A No. 2 Q To your knowledge, does the City of 3 Adelanto -- strike that. 4 To your knowledge, has GEO provided the City 5 of Adelanto with their policies and procedures manual? 6 A I do not know that. 7 Q Has anyone from the City of Adelanto ever 8 contacted you about any of the policies governing 9 Adelanto? 10 A No. 11 Q Has anyone at the City of Adelanto ever 12 contacted you in your capacity as the Compliance 13 Administrator for any purpose? 14 A No. 15 Q And you have been the Compliance Administrator 16 for four years? 17 A Yes. Yes. 18 Q Are you aware of whether the City of Adelanto 19 has come to do a walk-through at any point in the 20 facility prior to you being the Compliance 21 Administrator? 22 A I don't know. 23 Q I'm going to represent to you that the City of 24 Adelanto has stated that a representative of the city 25 went to Adelanto in October of 2012 or November of 2012. Page 57 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 111 of 152 Page ID #:4129 1 of a rebellion, riot or disturbance, and when all of the 2 followings conditions exist." 3 4 5 6 7 8 What is a rebellion for purposes of this policy? A That I'm not sure. That was already put in there before I came in. Q Has anyone ever come to you to ask what or how to define that word "rebellion" in this policy? 9 A No. 10 Q Is there a definition of rebellion for 11 purposes of this policy? 12 A No. 13 Q Looking right next to the word "rebellion," 14 the next word is "riot." 15 this policy? 16 A What is a riot for purposes of That's usually when it's more than, let's say, 17 five detainees or on the housing unit being involved in 18 some type of disturbance of the facility, like fights 19 going on. 20 Q And when you say type of disturbance for the 21 facility like fights, what other things would be the 22 type of disturbance that would constitute a riot? 23 A Usually it's fights for the most part. 24 Q Is there anything else that you can think of 25 other than fights? Page 60 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 112 of 152 Page ID #:4130 1 2 REPORTER'S CERTIFICATE 3 4 5 I, CAROLYN ANN PETERSON, Certified Shorthand Reporter, do hereby certify: 6 That prior to being examined, the witness in 7 the foregoing proceeding was by me duly sworn to testify 8 to the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 9 truth. That said proceedings were taken before me at 10 the time and place therein set forth and were taken down 11 by me stenographically at the time and place therein 12 named and thereafter reduced to computerized 13 transcription under my direction and supervision; 14 I further certify that I am neither counsel 15 for nor related to any party in said proceedings, nor in 16 any way interested in the outcome thereof. 17 18 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto subscribed my name this date: September 19, 2019. 19 20 21 22 <%17893,Signature%> CAROLYN ANN PETERSON, CSR 3195 23 24 25 Page 84 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 113 of 152 Page ID #:4131 EXHIBIT 14 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 114 of 152 Page ID #:4132 UN]TED STATES DISTR]CT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CAL]FORNIA 1 2 3 4 OMAR ARNOLDO R]VERA MARTINEZ; 5 ISAAC ANTON]O LOPEZ CASTILLO; JOSUE VLADIMIR CORTEZ DIAZ; JOSUE MATEO LEMUS CAMPOS' MARVIN JOSUE 6 1 CER/NFED TRANSCruFT GRANDE RODRIGUEZ; ALEXANDER ANTON]O BURGOS MEJ]A; LUIS PENA GARCIA; JULIO CESAR BARAHONA CORNEJO, AS ]NDIVI DUALS, B PLA] CASE NO.: NT T FFS , 9 5:18-CV-01125-R-GJS VS. 10 11 72 13 1,4 15 THE GEO GROUP, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION; THE CITY OF ADELANTO, A MUNICIPAL ENTITY; GEO LIEUTENANT DURAN, SUED IN HER INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY; GEO LIEUTENANT DIAZI SUED IN HER IND]VIDUAL CAPACITY; GEO SERGEANT CAMPOS, SUED IN HIS ]NDIV]DUAL CAPACITY' SARAH JONES, SUED IN HER INDIVIDUAL CAPAC]TY; THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; AND DOES 1-10, INDIVIDUALS' 1,6 DEFENDANTS 71 1B I9 DEPOSITION OF SERGEANT GIOVANNI 20 2I 22 ZJ 24 25 WEDNESDAY, MAY 201,9 No.: 3295952 REPORTED BY CARLA JOB B, CAMPOS PAGES 1- J. AMBRTZ, CSR NO. 1,2504 189 Page Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 1 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 115 of 152 Page ID #:4133 1 2 Q Do you remember if any of the updates were about OC spray? 3 A Yes. We had a refresher. 4 Q So thinking back to your time in the military, 5 when you were getting these updates on OC spray and you 6 had training on OC spray, were you trained there was a 7 safe distance at which to deploy OC spray? 8 A Yes. 9 Q What was that distance? 10 A It depends if you have -- it depends how close 11 they are to you and what's going on. 12 to five feet. 13 14 Q Typically, three So three to five feet would be the usual rule; is that right? 15 A Yes. 16 Q When you say it depends how close they are to 17 you, do you mean if the person is approaching you, you 18 might end up spraying them at a closer -- 19 A Yes. 20 Q But if they're not approaching you, you would 21 try and spray from three to five feet; is that right? 22 A Yes. 23 Q Were you taught restraint holds while you were 24 25 in the military? A Yes. Page 16 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 116 of 152 Page ID #:4134 1 2 MS. AGUADO: Compared to what? BY MS. SWEETSER: 3 Q Compared to the Maglite job you were working? 4 A Yes. 5 Q When you first started at the facility, did you 6 have training there? 7 A Yes. 8 Q How long was that? 9 A I remember two to four weeks. 10 Q And then after -- after you started at the 11 facility, was there additional training over the course 12 of the time you were working there? 13 A There's annual refresher. 14 Q How long is the annual refresher at the 15 facility? 16 A One week, 40 hours. 17 Q When you started at the facility, did you -- 18 what level did you start at? 19 A Officer. 20 Q And at some point, did you get promoted to 21 sergeant? 22 A Yes. 23 Q When was that? 24 A Five years after being there. 25 Q Was that in 2017? Page 19 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 117 of 152 Page ID #:4135 1 If you have other information you want to -- 2 MS. AGUADO: But it still didn't happen after 3 hours. 4 you're talking about in the evening, it didn't happen in 5 the evening, so I don't think we need to go down this 6 road. 7 8 9 10 Or maybe you need to define after hours. MS. SWEETSER: If Why don't I rephrase. BY MS. SWEETSER: Q Do you know whether Lieutenant Diaz had a way to reach the warden when he was not at the facility? 11 A Yes. 12 Q Do you know whether she reached out to the 13 warden that morning? 14 A Typically, you have to when something happens. 15 Q Did she tell you, that morning, that she was 16 going to reach out to or contact the warden? 17 A I don't know. 18 Q Did you ask Lieutenant Withers to contact the 19 warden? 20 A No. 21 Q And is it your training and understanding that 22 the facility administrator should be contacted prior to 23 the use of OC spray? 24 A No. 25 Q That's not something that you were trained to Page 51 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 118 of 152 Page ID #:4136 1 2 3 4 5 do? A Once you're certified, you don't need authorization. Q Is there someone in the facility called a security supervisor? 6 A No. 7 Q Were you certified in the use of OC spray? 8 A Yes. 9 Q When did that happen? 10 A At GEO? 11 Q Yes, at GEO. 12 A A few months before. 13 Q So was it at the time of your promotion to 14 sergeant? 15 A Yes. 16 Q So once you're certified and promoted to May, maybe. When you get promoted, you do it. 17 sergeant, you don't have to contact someone else for 18 approval before using OC spray; is that right? 19 A No, you don't. 20 Q Before you were promoted to sergeant, did you 21 have any other promotions within the GEO Group? 22 A No. 23 Q When you were first promoted to sergeant, was 24 there a specific place you were assigned in the 25 facility? Page 52 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 119 of 152 Page ID #:4137 t A Yes. 2 O And what type of assistance was requested? 3 A They really don't say much info on the radio, 4 because anything can happen. So you just call for 5 someone to come over. 6 1 o Did they call for officers to respond from West facility speci fi ca1 ly? B A No. 9 o Did they call 10 A She called for a supervisor. 11 O Was that the first I2 A Second call. 13 O So on the first for all officers to respond? cal-l or the second call? caII' was there any what was it your understanding the cafl- T4 what 15 asking for? I What type of assistance? at East. A "We need backuP 17 O Did she say "backup at East" or at "East 1,9 20 2I mean, was I6 1B the " 2-Charlie" specificallY? A WeII, typi-cally, you would say where. So yeah, East 2-Charlie. O Was there any -- was that all the information relayed 1n the cal-l? ZJ A Yeah. The second one was just asking for a 24 supervisor, and then time lapsed, and they called again. 25 Sounded really urgent. You can tel-l- by the voice. And Page Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 14 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 120 of 152 Page ID #:4138 2 at the moment, I needed to send everyone out on their hospital runs. I couldn't hold that uP, because that's 3 medical care for detainees. 4 and Withers could not both go. 5 facility 1 So I finished there. without a supervisor. We cannot leave our So I went - Okay. So there was one call while you were at 6 0 1 the armory o A 9 O 10 A Yes. 11 O Then time lapsed, and then a second call I2 Me There were several. that called for assistance? came in for a supervisor; is that right? 13 A Yes. 1,4 O And then further time lapsed. You couldnrt 15 respond because you had to provide medical care to the 1_6 detainees; is that ri-ght? f was asslgning firearms so they can take L1 A 18 detainees. 19 O ZU call came in for a supervisor,' And then a third is that right? 21, A Yes. 22 O At that point of the third call, 23 as s igning 24 A Yes. I rushed it, 25 o Did you talk to Lieutenant Withers to tell were you done the firearms? and I responded. him Page 75 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-s127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 121 of 152 Page ID #:4139 1 O When you talked to him to teII him you were you anythlng about what 2 going to respond, did he tell 3 communication he had with them? 4 MS. AGUADO: Mischaracterizes testimony. 5 THE WITNESS: NO. 6 1 o BY MS. O SWEETSER: Is it just your speculation that Withers called over there, or do you know? 9 A What do you mean? 10 O WelI, you said that Withers called over there I2 to flnd out what was going on after the radio cal-I. Do you know that personalJ-y, or you're just assuming that 13 that would have happened? 11 1,4 15 16 \1 A I rm assuming, because there was no other radio communication. O So Withers didn't say anything to you about communication he had with the facility; is that right? 18 A No. I9 O So during the second cal-I, You were still- 20 assigning firearms, but by the time of the third call, 21- you were done assigning the firearms; is that right? 22 A Yes. 23 a Did you radio over to the East to see what 24 25 was happening before you responded? A No. Page Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-s127 11 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 122 of 152 Page ID #:4140 O 1 Besides calling Withers to al-ert him that you the perimeter patrol, 2 were going and then calling 3 you call anyone else on the radio to tell 4 were going to East? them that you 5 A No. There's no one there. 6 O There's no one where? 1 A Only supervisors there were me and him. B O How 9 long did it take the perimeter patrol to respond to your call? 10 A A few seconds. 11_ O How 1,2 long did it take them to drive you over to the other facility? 1-3 A Less than two minutes. I4 O When you 1_5 did arrived at East, was there a door of East that you arrived at? particular I6 A The front door. 1-1 O And when you go in the front door of East, 1B where is 2-Charlie located relative A L9 You walk down the hallway. You walk down another hallway. 2I walk down another hallway. )) through the yard. 23 open 24 door opens, and you're in 2-Charlie. a door O You make You open the yard. You You run And then you get to the 2-Pod. You go down the hallway. When you a right. You make a l-ef t. 20 25 to the front door? arrived at the facility You Then another well, while Page 19 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 123 of 152 Page ID #:4141 1 you were riding with the perimeter patrol, 2 you anything about what was going on at East facility? 3 A No. MS. AGUADO: Assumes facts that they would 4 5 know. 6 Go ahead. 1 THE WITNESS: NO. B 9 10 did they teIl BY MS. O SWEETSER: Did Lieutenant Withers tell you anything about what was going on at 2-Charlie? 11 A No. 1,2 O Between arriving at the front door and going to 13 the door of 2-CharLre, did you encounter anyone el-se I4 told you what was going on? No. 15 I6 who I Did you hear any radio cal-ls -- from the third 1B call that we talked about ca11j-ng for a supervisor to when you arrived at the door of 2-Charlie, did you hear 1,9 any other radio calls? L1 20 A I don't remember. 2I O Is it fair to say that, when you arrived at the 22 door of 2-CharIie, alI you knew was that someone had z5 radi-oed from assistance for assistance from there? 24 A Voq 25 O And when you entered' did what what did Page Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-sr27 B0 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 124 of 152 Page ID #:4142 1 2 you see happening there? A Count starts at 6:15. That's when they prep. 3 It could be 6:10 or 6:15, but it's prior to 6:30. 4 typically, every day, it would be silent during count. 5 When I walked in, everyone was standing up. 6 yelling. 7 detainees were yelling at officers in Spanish and 8 English. 9 saw was that everyone was just going against the 10 officers. 11 Q 12 Everyone was swearing at everybody. It looked like -- like a rebellion. So, People were All What I So when you say it looked like a rebellion, is that something that you were trained to recognize? 13 A I would just say I just recognized what it is. 14 Q So you were not trained on what a rebellion is; 15 is that right? 16 A No. 17 Q Have you seen the word "rebellion" in any 18 policy documents? 19 A Yes. 20 Q What policy documents are those? 21 A I don't know. 22 Q Were they policy documents you reviewed for 23 today? 24 A It could have been. 25 Q But you didn't receive on any -- any -- you Page 81 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 125 of 152 Page ID #:4143 1 didn't receive any training on what a rebellion was? 2 A No. 3 Q And when you say detainees were yelling at 4 officers, were the detainees in the bunks yelling? 5 A In the bunks. 6 Q What did you hear them yelling? 7 A It was in Spanish. 8 fast. 9 Q Did you hear anyone yelling in English? 10 A Detainees? 11 Q Detainees, yes. 12 A Yes. 13 Q What were the detainees yelling in English? 14 A It sounded like a bunch of cuss words. 15 Q Did you hear any detainees yelling at the 16 People were talking really I don't know what they were saying. officers to stop? 17 A No. 18 Q Where were the detainees in the bunks when 19 you -- when you entered and saw detainees yelling from 20 the bunks, where were -- where were those detainees? 21 A All four tiers had some standing up. 22 Q Were there any officers in the bunk areas when 23 you entered? 24 A I don't know. 25 Q Did you hear the detainees who were in the Page 82 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 126 of 152 Page ID #:4144 1 A Directives, 2 O And it was very loud in there; correcL? 3 A Yeah. 4 O Coul-d you teIl 5 directives ? 6 A No. 1 O And U commands yes. which officers were giving which but there were multiple officers at the same time; is that right? 9 A Yeah. 10 O Were the commands you heard in English? 11 A I don't remember. 1,2 O Do you remember if 13 I4 15 16 gi-ving you heard any commands in Spanish? A Typical-ly, if they're not answering in English, they're going to try Spanish, if you speak Spanish. O Well, typically, but I'm asking at the 1-1 you entered the room, did you hear anyone 1B officers moment any of the I9 A I heard a lot of Spanish and English, yes. 20 O Did you hear any of the officers in Spanish when you entered the 2I commands 22 A I don't 23 O You don't remember that? z4 A I don't remember. 25 O You said it giving room? know. takes about an hour to complete the Page 86 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-st27 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 127 of 152 Page ID #:4145 I 2 MS. AGUADO: ft's were standing in the bunk area. officers THE WITNESS: Where 3 4 BY MS. A B n 9 10 be? Is there a part of the bunk area where you cannot see into the day 7 would they SWEETSER: O 5 6 vague as to where these room? if your bunk is next to the wal-l. WelJ-, if the o ffi ce rs were standing in the Only area, is there a place in the bunk area where the woufdn't be ab]e to look out into the day officers bunk LI A I don't L2 O In your experience in 2-Charlie, did you room? know. 13 were you able to see into the day room from the bunk 1,4 area ? 15 A Yes. 1,6 0 When you 17 detainee entered 2-Charli-e, did you see moving between the bunk area and the day room? s 1B A No. 19 O Did it look to you like any detainees were 20 destroying property? 2\ A No. 22 O What's the first 23 2-Charlie? .A z.a A 25 When thing you did when you entered I entered, I saw what I saw, as I described, and there was there was officers escortj-ng Page 89 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 128 of 152 Page ID #:4146 1 the detainee out. And the detainee was being combative. 2 He was resistive. It looked like he was trying to -- 3 trying to run from them. 4 the wall. 5 proceed with moving. 6 So I just guided them towards I told them to gain control before they At that point, I still didn't know what was 7 going on because it was really loud. 8 there was detainees in the day room tables. 9 officers attempting to secure them, and the detainees 10 were elbowing them. 11 side to side. 12 secure them. 13 Q Then I saw that And I saw They were swerving their bodies They were just not letting the officers Hang on. I know you have a whole story to 14 tell, but I want to just break it down thing by thing so 15 we can get through it in an orderly fashion. 16 just a sec. 17 18 So hang on Let's start with the first thing you said. You saw officers escorting a detainee out? 19 A Yes. 20 Q How were the officers located relative to that 21 detainee? 22 A One on each arm. 23 Q Were their hands underneath the detainees arms? 24 Were they holding onto his triceps? 25 located? How were they Page 90 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 129 of 152 Page ID #:4147 1 MS. AGUADO: 2 THE WITNESS: 3 4 5 6 If you recall. I don't know. BY MS. SWEETSER: Q And you said you thought the detainee was trying to run away? A He was not walking with the officers. He 7 was -- I don't know how to explain it. He was making 8 them -- he was trying to walk the officers, basically. 9 Q What -- I'm sorry. 10 A Yeah, I don't know how to explain it. 11 What does that mean? He was trying to get out of their grasp. 12 Q Was he going too fast for them? 13 A The detainee? 14 Q Yes. 15 A Yeah. 16 Q So the first thing you saw was the officers had 17 this detainee by the arms, and he was trying to go 18 faster than they were going; is that right? 19 A Yeah, but he was being -- he was swerving side 20 to side. 21 was, like, elbowing the officers. 22 23 Q Their hands were behind their backs. So he When you say he was swerving from side to side -- 24 A Yeah, swerving his body. 25 Q How big was this detainee? Page 91 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 130 of 152 Page ID #:4148 1 A Yes. 2 Q And then once the front of his body was against 3 the wall, you expected them to take his arms in a 4 different way? 5 6 MS. AGUADO: Go ahead. 8 THE WITNESS: 10 BY MS. SWEETSER: Q 12 properly? 13 A 15 Just secure -- I just expected them to be able to secure him properly. 11 14 Misstates his testimony. 7 9 Objection. What did you mean by that, to secure him To have him close to them so that he can't run, he can't elbow the officers. Q So did you think they weren't holding him 16 properly because they were too far from the -- he was 17 too far from them? 18 A He wasn't -- they had no control of him. 19 Q And holding him closer would allow them to gain 20 control? 21 A Yes. 22 Q And why did you expect them to use the wall to 23 24 25 do that? A Because the detainee was running forward. It's also to prevent injuries to him, because he could trip, Page 94 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 131 of 152 Page ID #:4149 1 and they would all fall. Did you watch them as they were placing him 2 o 3 the wall? 4 A Yes. I guided them to the wall. 5 O And did you watch them secure his arms in 6 7 a di fferent way? n d No, because there was something el-se going on. MS. AGUADO: Can we take a short break? We're B 9 on at the two-hour mark 10 MS. SWEETSER: Sure. 11 THE WITNESS: Thank You. I2 (Recess was taken f rom 1,221-7 p.m. to 1:04 p.m.) 13 MS. SWEETSER: Back on the record. L4 15 BY MS. 0 SWEETSER: Before the lunch break, we were discussing 76 you ordered two officers I1 wall; is that right? to Place the detainee on the 1B A I just guided them. T9 O And you 20 you verballY said to them, "Put him on the wall-"; right? 21, A To, yes, gain control. )) O Did you say "gain control of him"? 23 A To gain control of him. 24 0 So you said, "Put him on the wall to gain 25 how control of him"? Page Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 95 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 132 of 152 Page ID #:4150 1 A YeS. 2 O Do you remember saying anything 3 that time? 4 A 5 6 No. Did they say anything to you about what O going on at that time? Those two officers? 1 A I donrt remember. B O Do you remember which officers 9 A No, I don't. 10 O Do you remember if 11 e.l-se to them at was those were? it was two mafe officers a male and female officer? 1,2 A I think it was two males. 13 O And then I belj-eve you said before they took in a different I4 ahold of his 15 drawn efsewhere; is that right? arms I6 A Yes. 1-1 I Vilhere 1B A A day room table. Was 1,9 20 or wdy, your attention was was it drawn to? the table directly behind where they were placing him on the wall? 2t A Kind of catty-corner. 22 O Did you use your pepper spray at the time you 23 were talking to them? 24 A Talking to 25 O To the who? when you gave that command to place Page 96 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 133 of 152 Page ID #:4151 1_ him on the wall, were you using pepper spray at all- at 2 that time? 3 A No. 4 O Had you deployed any pepper spray at that time? 5 A No. 6 O Could you tell '7 used in the room you were in? d A No. 9 O So you didn't 10 whether pepper spray had been smefl anything or feel anything that would indicate pepper spray had been used? 11 A No. l2 O I'm going to show You Exhibit 4. (Plaintiffs' 13 for identification. I4 15 1"6 1,1 Exhibit 4 was marked BY MS. 0 ) SWEETSER: Do you recognize yourself as one of the people depicted in this exhibit? 1B A It looks like 19 O Where are you located in this exhibit? 20 A Towards the entrance. 2I O Does this exhibit 22 6:46 a.m.? 23 A That's what it saYS here, Y€s. 24 O And does this depict the scene as you remember 25 me. show you entering at it when you entered? Page Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 97 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 134 of 152 Page ID #:4152 1 who were housed in 2-Charlie at t.hat time? 2 A No. 3 O You don't remember knowing any of them? 4 A No. 5 O Do you know if the facil-ity has a policy that 6 you cannot pepper spray a detainee who's being 1 restrained? B A Yes. 9 O It does have that policy? 10 A Once they are restrained, 11 O So if a detainee is being held by the arms, for not being restrained. L2 example, it would be out of policy to pepper spray that 13 de ta inee I4 15 ? MS. Obj AGUADO: ection. Incomplete hypothetical. I6 It depends what they are doing. THE WTTNESS: L1 If they're being held by their arms, it's 1_B because they're striking t9 saw. ZU BY MS. 2I 22 z5 24 25 O the officers, probably which is what I SWEETSER: WeIl, let' talk about the first s detainee you said was looking like he was walking too fast; correct? MS. Objection. AGUADO: That mischaracterizes his testimony. THE VOITNESS : It l-ooked like he was trying to Page Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 99 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 135 of 152 Page ID #:4153 1 get out of their grasp. 2 BY MS. SWEETSER: 3 O Did you consider pepper spraying him? 4 A No. 5 O Woul-d 6 spray 1 A No. B O Why not? 9 A He was handcuffed. 10 O So it's 11 it. have been in policy for you to pepper him? out of policy to pepper spray detainees that are handcuffed? 1,2 A Yes. 13 O I'm goJ-ng to show you Exhi-bit 5. (Plaintiffs'Exhj-bit I4 for identification. 15 I6 BY MS. 5 was marked ) SWEETSER: Is this 1-1 O 1B interacting 19 des in Exhibit 5 does t.hat depict you with the officers in the manner you just cribed? 20 A Canrt tell. 2L O But do you see yourself in this exhibit? 22 A Standing, yes. 23 O And does it 24 25 some officers A appear that you're interacting with there? I cantt tell where I'm looking at. Page 100 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-s127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 136 of 152 Page ID #:4154 1 Vfell , if U Exhibit 2 and 3 entering the on 4 A Yes. 5 O And 6 6, and roomr' look at the timestamp on Exhibit 4 you said Exhibit 4 depicts you is that right? then you deployed your pepper spray in Exhibit 6, is that riqht? 1 9 you A Yes. O Are those two exhibits l-ess than a minute apart ? 10 A Yes, they are. 11 o So does that refresh your recoll-ection that you I2 deployed your pepper spray within the first 1-3 entering the minute of room? 1,4 n Yes. 15 O Do you know which detainee you were spraying at 1,6 this t7 A 1B O I9 right in this exhibi-t? Yes. Whoever's on this side. And you're pointing to the upper left; is that ? 20 A The bottom right. 21, O So you're 22 A Well, whichever 23 O That's all right. 24 perspective, right? 25 Ieft way you see it. I don't know. So, Iike, from your You're looking at it on your is the detainee you're spraying on the le ft-hand Page Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 1"04 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 137 of 152 Page ID #:4155 1 side of the table? 2 A Yes. 3 O Okay. And you're standing on the left-hand 4 side of the table; is that right? 5 A Voq 6 O What do you remember being the reason that you 7 B 9 sprayed this particular A detainee? WeIl, the situation here has already escalated. Since the time that it was cal-led, now that I'm seeing 10 the time here, a lot of time has lapsed. 11 that they've already exhausted all the attempts to qain t2 compliance. And what I saw was detainees assaulting 1_3 staff. I4 further injuries 15 I6 O And I know "Step away," to prevent So I told the officers, to both detainees and staff. So you said the the situation the time assistance was first escalated from cal-Iedt is that right? 11 A Yes. And from what I saw when I got there. 1B O How 19 did you know the situation from when assistance was cal-led? Because of how foud it 20 A 2I combative. 22 O Did anyone tell was, and everyone was you, prior to 6246:46, the time you prior to that 23 stamp on Exhj-bit 6, did anyone tell 24 what had happened to get to this point? 25 had escafated A No. Page Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 1-05 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 138 of 152 Page ID #:4156 O 1 to the waII, prior Besides guiding the officers 2 to deploying your pepper spray, did you have any 3 communication with any other officers? 4 A I told them to steP away. 5 O Did you have anyone give you any information 6 about what was going on? 7 MS. AGUADO: Asked and answered. B THE WITNESS: 9 BY MS. O 10 11 No. I could see it. SWEETSER: detainee on the Did you see this particular Ieft-hand side of the table elbowing an officer? 1,2 A Yes. 13 O Prior to deploying your pepper sprayr You I4 that ? Yes 15 . was elbowed? L6 o Do you know which officer I1 A I don't 1B 0 Do you know how many officers I9 saw know. near that detainee when were standing you ordered them 20 A No, I donrt. 2t O Do you know how many officers away? were around the LL a/) table in general when you ordered the officers 23 back? to step 24 A No, I don't. 25 O Did you give any other orders before telling Page Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 1-06 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 139 of 152 Page ID #:4157 1 the officers awaY? I always give directives. A 2 to steP So I already know that I would have given directives 3 was 4 for them to comply, and if they didnrt' 5 Iead to something else. f 'm sorry. O 6 my recollection then it would Could you cJ-arifY that? So you 1 know that you would have already given directives B comply 1_0 I always give directives. A 9 to You can't j ust expect someone to do something without asking them. T1 O You mean the detainees? L2 A Yes. 13 O Did you hear between telling the officers to I4 guide that detainee to the wal-I and deploying your 15 pepper spray, did you hear the other officers I6 commands to the detainees? 1-1 A Yes. 1B O What did you hear them saY? T9 MS. AGUADO: If You recall. 20 THE VIITNESS: 2I BY MS giving I don't recal]-. SWEETSER: You said before you had heard some commands as 22 ZJ you entered the room. Were the same commands still 24 being given? 25 A Yes. Paqe L01 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-s127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 140 of 152 Page ID #:4158 1 2 So there were still O commands being given by multiple officers? 3 A By staff, 4 I Did you hear any 5 multiple yeS. commands being given in Spani sh? 6 A I don't remember. 1 O Do you remember anything that, prior to a deployi-ng the pepper spray, the detainees at the table 9 were saying? 10 A No. II O Could you tell 1,2 at the table 13 bunks 1-4 A 15 1,6 17 1B as opposed what was being said by detainees to detainees yelling from their ? Yeah. I was close enough, but f don't know what they were saylng. Do O you remember whether they were saying anything at that. time ? No, A I don't. 20 picture, Exhibit 6, that you have in front of YOUr are all the people who are standing up 2I officers I9 In thi I ? 22 A It's 23 o Do 24 25 s not clear enough. I can't tell. you think some of the people standing up around the table coul-d be detai-nees? MS. AGUADO: Asked and answered. Page 108 Veritext Legal So lutions 866 299-st27 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 141 of 152 Page ID #:4159 If you can tell-. THE WITNESS: I don't know. No, I don't 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 I 9 10 TL I2 13 L4 15 76 I1 18 1.9 ZV 2I 22 BY MS. SWEETSER: Prior to deploying your pepper spray' did you O give any commands to the detainees yourself? Yes. A What did You saY? O You just Yell out "OC sPraY." A Is that telting the officers to step away, O would you just say "OC spray" and they would know to step away? My command was for them to step awayr ds said A earl-ier. And then before you deploy OC, you say "OC warning, " "OC sPraY warning." And when you're saying "OC spray warningr' -a That's for everYbodY. do you give a command to do something? a No. They were already refusing all commands A from everybody. At this point it was combative. They were not complyi-ng. So you di-dn't give any commands f or the a detainees to do anything because, in your opinion, they A 24 were not going to comPlY? MS. AGUADO: Ob;ection. 25 his testimony. 23 know. That mischaracterrzes Page 109 I Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-s127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 142 of 152 Page ID #:4160 2 you were OSo 1 instructing them to guide the detainee to the wall- at that time? I don't 3 A It could be. 4 O And then 20 seconds later 5 later, 6 A Yes. It shows here. 1 O So in that time you assessed that the detainees B know. or 23 seconds 6:46246, youfre deploying your sprayi correct? dL were not following commands at the tablei correct? 9 A Yes 10 O And you gave them a command to stop resisting? 11 A I2 O 13 pepper spray did you gi-ve that command? Three to five seconds. d 15 O L1 step A it before or after asking the officers f don't in English or ].n I don't know. If they speak Spanish, I would have done it in Spanish. {l Did you z-t n When 25 command Spani sh? 22 24 to know. Did you give the 20 2I Was away? 1B 79 about how long before deploying the Vihen L4 T6 . know detainees respond in Spanish, I speak Spanish to them. O And you didn't Page 111 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 143 of 152 Page ID #:4161 1 2 u 7 pause between when the officers I think th e video would speak for whether or not it shows a pause. Yeah. I don't know. THE WITNESS: MS. AGUADO: itself, 5 6 it show a stepped away and when you began spraying? 3 4 Woul-d BY MS. SWEETSER: O If you gave a command to the detainees and then B waited for them to comply, you would expect to see 9 pause between two events; correct 10 -f1. What do you mean? 11 u You said you gave I2 a ? command, and you waited at leas t three seconds for them to comply; is that right? I don't remember. 13 l:\ No. I don't 1,4 o You don't remember doing that? 15 A I don't remember if therers a pause or 1"6 1,7 1B know. a waiting period. I But you don't remember waitinq for them to comply after giving the command? they didn't comply before or after. L9 A I 20 O But do you remember if you gave a 2I a remember then waited to see command and if they would comply? 22 A I don't remember. 23 O Did you determine that you should deploy pepper 24 25 spray at a partlcular n h detainee at this time? Yes. Page 113 Veritext Legal lutions 866 299-5127 So Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 144 of 152 Page ID #:4162 that 1 o Which detainee 2 A Whichever one I got first. 3 O The left-hand -- 4 A I don't know their names, yeah. 5 O Okay. 6 first. seen And when you say being combative, you mean thought he was eJ-bowing an officer 11 n Yes. 1,2 tl So that's 13 did you decide that the That's the one that was being combative that I A 9 10 ? le ft-hand detainee should be pepper sprayed first? 1 B And why was whY You chose ? to deploy pepper spray against him first? I4 A Yes 15 o I'm going to show You an Exhibit . (Plaintlffs' I6 1,9 20 BY MS. 1 . Exhibit 7 was marked for identification. 1"7 1B You ) SWEETSER: This is an Exhibit, u 6:46:52. Does this exhibit depict you deploying pepper sPraY? 2I A You can't tell. 22 O Do you see a person at the bottom of the table 23 deploying pepper spray from that position in this .A exhibit 25 a ? Tt iust looks tike I'm standing there. -.) ' Page LIA lutions 866 299-5127 Veritext Legal So Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 145 of 152 Page ID #:4163 1 O Do you know whether you ever deployed pepper 2 spray from the bott.om of the table? 3 that ? 4 r did. 5 Do you know about 6 you Do you remember moved was that the next position to after deploying it in the left-hand side? 7 A Yes. I went around the table. B n Is there a particular 9 10 11 1"2 13 detainee you were spraying when you moved to the bottom of the table? A Yes . The other detai-nees that it didn' t make contact with. O you pointed at the picture. And are you Are you gesturing at the right-hand side of the table? 1,4 A Yes. 15 O So you moved to the bottom of the table to 1,6 spray the detainees on the right-hand side of the table; I7 is that right? 1B A Yeah. I9 O And what made you decide to spray the detainees ZU 2I on the right-hand side? A I only got one over here. AlI of these that the officers that were 22 were on the table were striking 23 attempting to secure them. And I went around so f can 24 control this side also, and I deployed 25 O After you deployed the OC OC spray there. spray agai-nst the Page 115 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 146 of 152 Page ID #:4164 1 A I don't. 2 O Okay. You remember them throwing their 3 arms back at some point? 4 A Yes. 5 O In order to do that, they had to unlink their 5 arms ? 1 A Yes. B O And you don't remember if that was prior to the 9 deployment of the pepper sprayer or after? 10 A No, I don't. 11 O Do you remember if 12 arms while you were dePloYing the pepper spray? MS. AGUADO: Letrs take 13 14 15 I6 I1 1B 1,9 the detainees had linked BY MS. a look at the exhibits. SWEETSER: Yes. FeeI free to look at the exhibits in O front of you. They' re huddled together. A don't You can't tell . know. O Do you have any personal recollection of 20 whether they had linked arms when you were pepper 2T spraying 22 A them? I believe it was after I sprayed that they 23 locked arms, which is another sign that they were not 24 going to comply. 25 O f Did you deploy -- besides the time that we Page L24 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 147 of 152 Page ID #:4165 1 2 Q Do you remember yourself using any come-along holds that day? 3 A No. 4 Q You were trained that force can never be used 5 to impose punishment; is that right? 6 A That's correct. 7 Q Force is only used as a last resort; is that 8 right? 9 A Yes. 10 Q And you were trained that only the minimum 11 amount of force necessary should be used; correct? 12 A Yes. 13 Q Were you given two different use-of-force 14 policies or just one use-of-force policy manual? 15 A What do you mean? 16 Q Were there multiple manuals that you had or 17 just one policy manual dealing with use of force? 18 A One. 19 Q Were you trained that you're allowed to use 20 force to maintain or regain order? 21 A Yes. 22 Q You used the word "rebellion" previously. 23 24 25 Can you tell me your understanding of that term? A It's -- my understanding, it's just when you're going to get no compliance out of the population, and Page 141 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 148 of 152 Page ID #:4166 1 2 3 4 they're against you. Q When you say "out of the population," do you mean out of the detainees in the unit as a whole? A Yes. 5 MS. AGUADO: 6 MS. SWEETSER: 7 (Recess was taken from 2:06 p.m. to 2:12 p.m.) 8 MS. SWEETSER: 9 10 Can we take a short break? Sure. Back on the record. BY MS. SWEETSER: Q So before we took the break, we were talking 11 about rebellions. 12 where the entire population of the unit is against you; 13 is that correct? 14 15 16 17 A And you said that a rebellion is It can be like a group or -- a small group or the whole unit. Q GEO trained you that you can use deadly force in a rebellion; correct? 18 A No, not that I recall. 19 Q What do you recall being trained is the 20 21 appropriate response in a rebellion? A It depends what's going on. 22 maintain control of the unit. 23 out of hand there. 24 25 Q You have to It was -- it was getting Did you think the entire population of the unit was against you? Page 142 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 149 of 152 Page ID #:4167 1 2 depends what's presented to you. Q So it doesn't -- there's no -- you weren't 3 trained that restraining holds are a lower level of 4 force than pepper spray? 5 A I don't remember the continuum. 6 Q Were you trained that you could use pepper 7 spray to quell a disturbance? 8 A What's "quell"? 9 Q Is "quell" a term that your training documents 10 used? 11 A I don't know what "quell" is. 12 Q Okay. 13 Were you trained that you could use pepper spray to enforce compliance with your orders? 14 A To regain control. 15 Q When you say "regain control," what do you 16 mean? 17 A When it's out of control. 18 Q So if you -- 19 A There's many different ways. 20 Q If you thought a detainee was out of control, 21 22 23 24 25 that is when pepper spray should be used; is that right? A If there's also a present danger, like self- -- self-harm or harm of others. Q What were all the factors you were given in evaluating whether to deploy your pepper spray? Page 145 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 150 of 152 Page ID #:4168 1 A Can you say it again. 2 Q What were all the factors you were told to 3 4 consider in deploying your pepper spray? A I don't remember. But I know it's protect 5 yourself, prevent injury to others, prevent injury to 6 themselves. 7 Q Have you yourself ever been pepper sprayed? 8 A Yes. 9 Q When was that? 10 A 2007, 2015 -- 11 Q Is it part of -- 12 A -- 2017, 2018. 13 Q In 2007, was that part of your training -- 14 A In the Marines. 15 Q In 2015, was that also part of training? 16 A I think that was when I -- no, I don't 17 remember. I don't think 2015. 18 Q That one didn't happen? 19 A No, I don't think so. 20 Q Okay. 21 In 2017, was that part of your training at GEO Group? 22 A When I got promoted, yes. 23 Q And in 2018, was that part of your training in 24 25 San Bernardino? A Yes. Page 146 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 151 of 152 Page ID #:4169 1 (Plaintiffs' Exhibit 12 was marked 2 3 for identification.) BY MS. SWEETSER: 4 Q Is this a report that you wrote? 5 A Yeah, it appears to be. 6 Q Did you complete -- did you attach the last two 7 pages to this report, or did you just write the first 8 two pages? 9 A I just did this page. 10 Q Okay. 11 So you just do the first two pages; is that right? 12 A Yeah. 13 Q Is there anything in this report that, as you 14 sit here today, you think is inaccurate or you would 15 have written differently today? 16 A No. 17 Q What details would you have added? 18 A All the noncompliance. 19 Q What noncompliance did you not include in this 20 I would have added more details. report? 21 A No, I think it's fine. 22 Q As you review it, now you think you included 23 all of the noncompliance you saw that day? 24 A Yes. 25 Q Did you report any injuries after writing this Page 153 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127 Case 5:18-cv-01125-SP Document 125-2 Filed 11/26/19 Page 152 of 152 Page ID #:4170 1_ STATE OF CALIFORNIA 2 COUNTY OF SAN BERNARD]NO ) ss. 3 I, Carla J. Ambriz, 4 5 State of California, CSR No. 1'2504, in and for the do hereby certi-fy: That prior to being examined, the witness 6 1 in the foregoing depositj-on was by me duly sworn to B testify 9 the truth; to the truth, and nothing but the whole truth, That said deposition was taken 10 named 11 shorthand at the time and place therein L2 thereafter 13 and the same is a true, correct, !4 of said proceedings; down by me in named and under my direction, reduced to typewriting and complete transcript That if the foregoing pertains to the original { 15 of a deposition in a Federal Case, before 1,6 transcript 1,7 completion of the proceedings, review of the transcript 1B { T9 20 21, } was not required. I further certify that I am not interested in i was { the event of the action. Witness my hand this 2Lst day of Mty, 201"9. 22 23 24 25 Carla J. Ambriz, CSR No. 12504 Page 189 Veritext Legal Solutions 866 299-5127