Oh my gawd!!! How can people even begin to think what Sherif Joe does to us is OK because the people in jail are "criminals"? What about inoccent until proven guilty??? I can't believe that, I too, once thougt it was ok to treat people this way just because they had been arrested. I was in a collision last summer. I insisted that the police be called because I had been hit by a car as I drove down the street and feared that an insurance investigation would be wrong if I didn't.
Much to my surprise and horror, a warrant had been issued under my name in another state by a psycho ex husband who wanted to make my life miserable. Did you know that all you have to do is state that someonehad threatened you, to have them ARRESTED? It doesn't matter if you haven't even spoken to them for 5 years! A statement is all they need.
Well, what I was arrested for is neither here nor there. What I went through after my arrest is still more than I can comprehend.
I was arrested, and because it was after 5 PM in the state that issued the warrant, I had to be booked. THERE IS NO SUCH THING as a free phone call. All calls must be collect. If there is no one there to accept charges, then, it's just too bad. If you do not have your phone book with you or if your cell phone IS your phone book, then, again, too bad. You can not use directory asistance with a collect call.
And guess what? ALL your calls must be collect calls, even if they are local. If the only number that you can recall is a cell phone, then you are S.O.L.! Cell phones can't take collect calls! If you don't rememeber anyone's numeber, too bad.
It does not matter if you are from south Phoenix or Paradise Valley, if you killed someone with an axe or if you forgot to pay a parking ticket. All are created equally in Phoenix.
If you have a medical conditin, you must wait for a minimum of 2 weeks observation to prove that you really have this diagnosis in order to get medical attention. This is per Joe's nurses. 3 of them told me the same thing. TWO WEEKS! If you have a serious problem, such as diabetes, alcoholism, drug addiction, or AIDS, then you can't get treatment for 2 weeks. You may think that some of these problems are due to the lifestyle of the person with the disease, but think again. If your brother was arrested because he failed to pay a parking ticket that he didn't notice on his car one day, because it got blown away during a monsoon, and he just happened to have AIDS and diabetes, he would be treated just like anyone else. A criminal GUILTY until proven otherwise. I won't go into how many people are incarcerated injustly and don't have the means to get out of it. The problem here is that the "nurses", or what ever they claim to be... Just don't give a rat's ass about them. If the nurse or tech or whatever. Doesn't think you are ill, then you are in trouble.
I am so mad that I can't even begin to tell you what I witnessed. I do know that most "experienced" inmated will file a request to be sent to Tent City as often as possible to get out of Estrella. Tent City is considered better living conditions than Estrella by the people who go through this system over and over.
Bologna? Bologna would have been nice. After AT LEAST 36 hours, I finally got a couple slices of what I think was salami, with 3 buns (molded) 2 plums (also molded) and 4 ounces of kool aid. I ate this crap because I was starving, only to throw up shorty there after. No one gives a shit if it makes you sick, you got your food, if you are lucky... Or unlucky. The guards do not check to make sure tha you are ok. If you are not street wise, then you had better put on a good act, because no matter how oud you scream for help, it will never come. If you are arrested for a first time, fake it like hell, pretend that you are a hardened criminal, and hope that this keeps you from getting beaten by other inmates... Because you will be housed with people who are not strangers to this system, and will beat you just for being a white woman/man on a clear/cloudy day. You will be abused at some point for SOMETHING.
Don't think for one moment that this will never happen to you. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would EVER be in jail. Watch your back, and memorize someone's phone number. If you are under a Physician's care, memorize the answering service phone number, and be sure that they will accept collect calls if you are ever in distress!!!
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