AS of Thursday, the count of people who have died in 2016 has risen to seven. (You can see the list in graphic at the top of this story.)
As we wrote earlier, from 2016 to 2025, approximately 37.5 percent of the 345 people who have died in the LASD’s jails, died as a result of circumstances that, according to Attorney General Bonta, were preventable.
And, on the topic of those 345 people who have died inside the jails since 2016, approximately sixty percent of those deaths have occurred in the last four years
“There have been 36 deaths in the Los Angeles County jails in 2025 alone, or approximately one death per week.”
And….now in January 2026, as of last Thursday, we’ve hit seven deaths.
****
Editor’s note: As of Monday, February 2, 2026, the number of in custody deaths has risen to eight.
I don’t know how long WLA will continue this count. As several readers have suggested, it’s a complicated issue, and a simple count looks at only one element of a large and tangled puzzle.
In any case, if readers want to check the numbers on their own, here’s where you can find the information.
Okay, now back to other stories.
Again, Celeste…
Pointing fingers. I would LOVE to see how attentive of care those who died received prior to being incarcerated. They aren’t dying at the hands of the county…
What are you going after, here???
Heaven forbid we factor in their lifestyle or lack of self-care (insert eye roll here).
With an average of 6000 deaths a month in LA County, look like these 7 aren’t too bad. Of the only 6 you show, at least 4 were in the hospital when they died. As @Tradition said, what are you going for? Look at the jail counts in the late 80’s and 90’s. Full jails were awesome!
@Traditon of Service, it’s not rocket science to know that those coming into jail have medical needs etc. Question is, what’s the BOS going to do since CHS is responsible for healthcare and LASD Custody collaborates.
@LA County Resident, what is the BOS doing for these people before they get in custody? What is Bass doing, what is Newscum doing? Have you seen the streets of LA? These people are sick before they get there. It is what it is, these people that have died are not counting calories, checking their fat intake and eating veggies. Come on, be real, or maybe you just don’t get it. The best doctors and nurse also are not signing up to work jail facilities. Blaming LASD for society’s problems are not the solution!
@LA Co Resident:
Having medical needs is one thing; not factoring in the majority of those coming into jail do not take their needs as seriously prior to incarceration is something totally different. Then, when they need their demise behind bars, the county is left with the bill… which is a crock.
Custody is responsible for the security for two things in relation to this article:
1- Security during CHS’s interaction with the inmate (which isn’t called into question here).
2- Ensuring illicit drugs are intercepted when trying to be smuggled into facilities in a myriad of ways. That is becoming harder and harder to do when the power to search effectively has been stripped away by legislation and boys crying wolf over search conditions. That has led to an influx of opioid overdoses in the county jails.
Oh yeah; you might question the validity of my statement… been watching this circus for 20+ years now. I have a front row seat; and there’s only so much finger pointing that should be happening. Time for the family of the departed to take a long, hard look in the mirror before showing the second grade photo of their black sheep that had so much potential and was going to change the world.
The decedent had abundant, adequate and regular access to medical treatment throughout their incarceration. Did they care about their ailments as much prior to becoming incarcerated? No.
@2026-
I’m all for full jails. Unfortunately we don’t have the staffing to fill them, because nobody wants the job anymore. We do have an abundance of Monday morning quarterbacks and internet legal scholars telling us how we should be doing our job though… that’s for sure.
There used to be a very efficient way of ensuring order in the jails… asking one to do something; telling them to do something, and then making them do something. As long as that process was followed, and the order was lawful and following procedure, it worked gloriously.
Sadly, we have relinquished control… and have brought the circus to town.
@tradition I worked there in the good years, I know! Poor leadership is the big problem.