Alameda County jail guards arrested in connection with inmate abuse

DUBLIN (KGO) -- Four employees of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office were arrested Thursday accused of mistreating inmates. The deputy sheriffs are alleged to have facilitated and allowed an inmate to throw feces and urine onto other inmates in the maximum security unit.

Those arrested are Sarah Krause, Justin Linn, Erik McDermott and Stephen Sarcos. Sarcos has already resigned. The others are on administrative leave pending the outcome of the internal affairs investigation.

The Sheriff's Office has been investigating the incidents since January. The investigation began when an inmate told an employee what had allegedly happened. That employee reported it to Internal Affairs.

Sheriff Greg Ahern told ABC7 News it's very upsetting. He said the deputies broke the trust of the public, the inmates and himself.

He added, this was an isolated incident and does not represent the 1,600 other employees who are working hard to do the job correctly.

Sheriff Ahern said the department is taking steps to prevent something like this from happening again... including expanding the body worn cameras policy.

Oakland civil rights lawyer, John Burris, said the department should be commended for policing itself. He also said he's never seen a case so despicable in terms of disrespecting a human being.