Two Santa Clara County Jail Guards Fired After Fight With Inmate, One for 'Brutality'

Two Santa Clara County correctional deputies who worked at the Elmwood women’s jail in Milpitas were fired in 2017 for being dishonest with investigators who were probing the abuse of an inmate according to newly released disciplinary records.

Former deputies Michelle Broussard and Alana Simpson-Hogan both received termination notices on Feb. 14, 2017, in the aftermath of a 2015 fight with an inmate who was refusing to change clothes. Broussard also used excessive force in the incident and was guilty of “brutality,” investigators found.

In all, Simpson-Hogan was found to have committed six administrative violations and Broussard eight. Both were guilty of “gross misconduct,” and investigators wrote that Simpson-Hogan tried to cover up Broussard’s abuse.

Broussard had the woman on the ground and placed “her left foot on the inmate’s chest” and also grabbed her by the throat as the inmate yelled that she couldn’t breathe.

Another guard who witnessed the incident told investigators that Broussard “was saying ‘Sweetie calm down’ ” and believed “Broussard was speaking this way so people outside of the room would think that she was trying calm down the inmate while instead Broussard had a hand on (the inmate’s) throat and a foot on her chest,” investigators wrote.

Simpson-Hogan was present but failed to write about the use of force in a corresponding report that investigators called “very vague.”

Sheriff Laurie Smith said in a statement that firing the deputies was essential to maintaining public trust in the agency.

“Lying sullies the honorable work of this office and tarnishes the reputation of our profession as a whole. Individuals who violate that trust are held accountable for their actions,” Smith said. “These incidents are not a true reflection of the honest men and women who represent this agency.”

The San Jose Mercury News reported in 2016 that two unnamed guards were under investigation and placed on administrative leave, but their identities and punishment were not made public until Wednesday. The records were released under the state’s new police transparency law, and are among the first in the region about misconduct by jail or prison guards.

In September 2017, Broussard and Simpson-Hogan filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the county in Superior Court, but in December 2018, they requested to be dismissed from the case, effectively forfeiting their claims, court records show. A judge granted the dismissal with prejudice, meaning they cannot raise the same grievance against the county again.

The firing of the two deputies came amid increased scrutiny of the Sheriff’s Office following the 2015 beating death of mentally ill inmate Michael Tyree at the Main Jail, which led to unprecedented murder convictions for three correctional deputies.

Sheriff’s internal affairs investigators since then have recommended criminal prosecution against several other correctional deputies for suspected offenses encompassing assault, workers’ compensation fraud, and illegally releasing information from a criminal database. Other jail guards were disciplined or fired for participating in a serial racist text message thread that resulted in the resignation of a union president.

The Tyree murder also prompted the formation of a blue-ribbon commission that recommended scores of jail reforms dealing with inmate treatment. And earlier this month, a federal consent decree went into effect that formally settled a class-action suit against the county by the Prison Law Office to dramatically improve jail conditions.

Still to come is the appointment of an independent monitor to audit jail and Sheriff’s Office operations, a position that was created last year by the Board of Supervisors and was one of the tent pole reforms recommended by the blue-ribbon commission.

This story was produced as part of the California Reporting Project, a collaboration of more than 30 newsrooms across the state to obtain and report on police misconduct and serious use-of-force records unsealed in 2019.