Two city agencies are investigating an allegation made by an inmate in San Francisco jail that a sheriff’s deputy started a physical fight last Friday after telling the 27-year-old, “you’re gonna be my bitch.”
The sheriff’s department said the deputy has been reassigned.
“Upon learning of the alleged misconduct, Sheriff [Paul] Miyamoto took immediate action to remove the deputy from inmate contact,” said Tara Moriarty, the sheriff’s spokesperson. “Excessive force will not be tolerated.”
The case is under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Police Accountability. The outcome of the investigation, Moriarty said, will determine next steps.
“Any violation — administrative or criminal — will have consequences,” Moriarty added. “Any abuse of authority is a serious breach of public trust.”
On Oct. 17, Kayleb Hardee, who was sentenced to prison for manslaughter last month, “got into a mutual combat fight with deputized staff,” according to a written report by a deputy who responded to the fight. The report was obtained by Mission Local.
Hardee said in interviews that the fight involved Deputy Abraham Escobar. Hardee said he was in his cell requesting to use the phone when Escobar began cursing at him and threatening him, saying, “You’re gonna be someone’s bitch in prison. You’re gonna be my bitch here.”
Kishawn Norbert, who is incarcerated next door to Hardee, said he witnessed the incident. In an interview, Norbert said he heard Escobar say, “we’re going to handle this the old San Bruno way,” referring to reports of deputies fist-fighting inmates at the San Francisco County Jail complex in San Bruno.
Escobar, Hardee alleged, opened his cell and brought him to a multi-purpose room on the other side of the unit. Hardee, who is required to be handcuffed when he is not in his cell, said he was not restrained.
Inside the room, Hardee said, Escobar turned off his radio and then kneed him. Hardee said he defended himself, and Escobar called for backup. Multiple deputies came running and tackled Hardee to the ground while Escobar left, Hardee said. Another deputy, Hardee added, tased him and left him temporarily blind in one eye.
Hardee said he was not immediately provided with medical attention. Instead, he said, he was moved from room to room for several hours before being returned to his regular cell. He said he reported urinating blood and a potential broken rib.
In an Oct. 21 letter, Vince Vila with the Department of Police Accountability said that a complaint filed by Hardee’s mother the day before was under investigation.
“The complainant alleges that her son was unnecessarily punched and tased by deputies,” Vila wrote.
The deputy’s incident report states that Hardee was held in a high-security part of the jail “where inmates must be restrained whenever they are outside their cells.”
At around 3:45 p.m that Friday, a call sign for an inmate resisting was put out over the radio, the report states. Several deputies responded to a fight between Hardee and other deputies, it concludes.
Hardee was written up for two violations for “fighting” and “crime” in the same report that described his “mutual combat” with deputies.
Hardee said he had not been disciplined for either violation. Usually, inmates are punished within three days of a violation, people who work in the jail told Mission Local. They added that they had not seen the terminology “mutual combat fight” used in years.
But allegations of jailhouse fights have a history in San Francisco. In 2015, the FBI looked into an alleged jail fight club, in which guards trained inmates and forced them to box one another while betting on the results. In 2019, then-Sheriff Vicki Hennessy launched an internal investigation into reports of officers beating inmates.
Hardee’s mother, Nicole Gorton, said she was denied a scheduled visit with her son the day after the alleged fight. When she saw him two days later, she said, he had a black eye, visible Taser marks and a swollen wrist wrapped in a bandage.
Other jail staff told Mission Local they saw the same injuries on Hardee. A couple said they were surprised when they heard allegations that involved Deputy Escobar, whom they regarded as a “nice guy.”
On Monday, Gorton sent a letter to the sheriff’s office, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, and Department of Police Accountability describing the incident and requesting a formal investigation.
“I believe there was an abuse of power and the use of excessive force by staff, which is both unethical and unlawful,” Gorton wrote. “Perhaps most troubling is that multiple inmates described these ‘off-camera fights’ as a common and accepted practice.”
Hardee has been incarcerated in San Francisco county jail since 2018. Hardee, jail staff, and his mother said he had taken every class and rehabilitative program available while awaiting sentencing.
After over seven years in San Francisco jail, Hardee said, he will be transferred to a state prison on Monday to complete the last five years of his sentence. After Friday’s incident, he said, he has been marked as a prisoner who has had an altercation with an officer.
Hardee said he spoke to a deputy supervisor today who apologized “on behalf of the sheriff’s department” and told him the incident “should have never happened.”
His mother also received a call from the sheriff’s office asking what they could do, Gorton said. She demanded medical attention. Only then, she said, was Hardee taken to a doctor for x-rays.
The supervisor said “bad apples make us look bad,” Hardee scoffed. To Hardee, “The whole situation looks bad.”
“We just get abused and abused and abused,” he said. “It gets swept under the rug.”
WTF why does sentencing alone take 7 YEARS in county jail? That’s crazy even before you get to fight club and psycho deputies and zero medical care.
This is not a justice system.
“His mother also received a call from the sheriff’s office asking what they could do, Gorton said. She demanded medical attention. Only then, she said, was Hardee taken to a doctor for x-rays.”
This is a whole separate problem wrapped in the larger one. They knew what happened and even apologized to him but still haven’t had him checked out medically by that point days later – is ridiculousness. He’ll win an even fatter settlement and the Dept. Budget will be drained accordingly. Who was responsible for the delay? This isn’t one bad apple and that’s it.
Settlements/awards come out of the general city funds, not department budgets, as far as I know. No accountability – if we wanted that, the funds would come from their pension fund.
So what’s the next investigative step? How do we avoid the result of the investigation being buried or just ignored?
Also, speaking as an old fat soft wimp I hereby mock Deputy Abraham Escobar for orchestrating a 1 on 1 fight with an inmate, seeing that he’s about to lose, and then calling multiple fellow officers to save his bacon
Officers who abuse their power and act unlawfully should be forced to pay for damages not the public and prosecuted. Jail is a ugly place filled with dangerous people on both side of the bars but correction officers are suppose to be professionals. They certainly are overpaid if this is a run of the mill “Mutual Combat.”
What a ridiculous idea that a fight between an inmate and a guard who has a squad of enforcers is a equal footing
Discipline all the staff with unpaid leave for a month.
Y’up whose charges were DISMISSED! They arrest first, charge high and investigate later. The mother was NEVER even in that hotel room, and it was proved that she has NO idea what went on in that room …. So you do your research!!! Even if the prisoner was a serial killer- a deputy should not order the inmate to w room, uncuffed (in direct violation of their policy), and then call for back up once he realizes he couldn’t win. Normally, they beat the inmate up and bring them back to their cell. But he apparently had to explain why his face looked like it did. Then deny medical care for over a week!!!!
Lets not forget Nicole Gorton is Nicole Hardee who was also charged in the the same manslaughter case.(https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/petaluma-family-pleads-not-guilty-to-murder-in-sf-hotel-killing/article_701eb013-7832-5f22-9365-05486deb5f68.html) keep reporting transparent. Tell the full story.
I hate violent cops as much as the next guy. But there are a lot of gaps in this story. This prisoner is required to be handcuffed all the time, and he provoked a cop that everybody says is a nice guy. What did he do? How has he acted in jail? How many violent crimes has he committed against our neighbors? Just because the criminal justice system is biased and racist and vicious, doesn’t make the people within it nice people. Prosecute dirty cops, but don’t make heroes out of the jerks who deserve incarceration , either.
What? Reading is key. The deputy is the one responsible for making sure they’re cuffed before transfer to the other location, as it makes abundantly clear. He failed to do so presumably because he intended to engage in mutual combat with the inmate. “Nice guy” is another deputy’s characterization and has exactly the value of 1 opine. The inmate in question has been jailed for years awaiting sentencing, which the article also clearly states, so there haven’t been “assaults on our neighbors” for that entire time. Reading is for life, try it.
This article is a perfect example of biased reporting. It’s written with a clear agenda instead of sticking to verified facts. There’s a lot of assumption and emotionally charged language, but very little balanced information or input from all sides — especially from the deputy or the Sheriff’s Department.
If you’re going to report on an active investigation, at least separate facts from speculation. This reads more like a hit piece than journalism, and it does a disservice to readers who are looking for credible information, not spin.
Hi Christy —
The Sheriff’s Department and their internal reports are heavily sourced. It is the department’s own reports that refer to “mutual combat.” What the department and its reports say may not be to your liking, but they were contacted and quoted.
Our article was not written with an agenda in mind. I cannot say the same for your comment.
Best,
JE
Can you be specific? Your comment lacks credible information, contains only unfounded and unfleshed accusations of bias and speculation.