Last in a series
A Death in Custody, Part 1: Where did it go wrong?
A Death in Custody, Part 2: Trial and tribulation
A Death in Custody, Part 3: 2+ years in a county jail

Victoria Sherman’s occasional cellmate, or celly, was Tabitha Willard, who spent 18 months incarcerated on various drug-related charges in Shasta County Jail and elsewhere.

She describes Sherman as a good friend to her.

“She would always read to me every night,” Willard says. “She was smart. She taught herself Spanish in there.

“She was brutally honest. She couldn’t lie. … She’d always tell me, ‘Tabitha, you got to stop being such a piece-of-shit mom to your kids. You got to grow up and get straight and take care of your kids.’ “

Sherman was treated OK by most members of the jail staff, Willard says.

“Everybody adored Vikki. They always did special things for her. I’ve not met one cop that didn’t like her.”

Rick Sherman says some staff knew how to deal with his daughter’s mental condition and limitations: “I think they understood her capacity. She was 10 to 12 (years old) emotionally. That’s in her psych eval.”

But Willard and the Shermans agree that one person didn’t, and seemed to zero in on Sherman — Deputy Carol Burch.

“She had nothing but hatred for that girl,” Willard says. “I don’t know why. You could see it in her eyes. She didn’t like Vikki being happy. She just treated her like shit.

“Vikki was a scapegoat. She would not be doing nothing, and Burch would get in her face. She would always find reasons to strip-search her. Once, she stripped her down to the waist and made her sit for hours in the middle of the room where everybody could see her. She was humiliated.”

Sherman’s mother, Diane, says they heard that the deputy “singles one out every so often to taunt and torment. She had no right. She shouldn’t have that power. That’s what Code 147’s about.”

California Penal Code 147 says: “Every officer who is guilty of willful inhumanity or oppression toward any prisoner under his care or in his custody, is punishable by fine not exceeding four thousand dollars ($4,000), and by removal from office.”

Sheriff Tom Bosenko and Jail Capt. Don Van Buskirk said Burch could decide for herself whether to talk about Sherman for this article.

Burch did not respond to requests for an interview.

Van Buskirk finally said Burch respectfully declined to talk.

“Most people (inmates) who are here for three years have issues,” he says. Sherman was in the jail for 32 months. “They’re known commodities, they know the system. They develop a sense of ownership —  ‘my cell,’ etc. The longer they’re here, the more problematic they become. … “A person like her (Sherman) might not have been afraid to act out with anybody,” he says. “Some inmates she liked. Some not. It was day-to-day.

“In general — and this applies to her — they’re written up or disciplined by numerous staff, Deputy Burch no more than others.”

Burch has been with the department for some 30 years. In February 2005, she received an award as Shasta County Employee of the Month.

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Is it possible the Shasta County Jail is short-staffed, or could it be underfunded for officer training or mental-health-care training?

No, Van Buskirk says.

“We are fully funded for our needs,” he says. “At a cap of 381 inmates, the needs are predictable. If the population changed and we needed more, we’d get more. As long as the population is 381, we can control the cost of mental and medical health care.”

The jail contracts out for those services: a physician is in the facility for 10 hours a week; physician’s assistant, 40 hours a week; an MFT counselor, 40 hours a week; dentist, two hours a week.  On the day shift there are two registered nurses or licensed vocational nurses.

Communication between the medical side of things and the officers is on paper or by phone and has adequate controls and backstops, Van Buskirk says.

Sherman’s counselor did not return a phone message asking to speak about the case.

Some things we would like to have asked: Why wasn’t Sherman on suicide watch? Did you feel your mental health assessments were shared by the officers, or at least that your orders were carried out appropriately? What is the case load like, and is there time enough to do thorough care?  Why is Sherman’s birth date wrong on so many of her records? And so on…

“This is a quality institution,” Van Buskirk says. “It’s inspected on a regular basis. The grand jury comes through every year.”

As for officer training, he says, it’s “plentiful and thorough — not on-the-spot training working with someone else.”

Officers have “a minimum of 176 hours of core course training and 24 hours annually of supplemental training such as in communicable diseases and suicide prevention classes,” he says.

“We run a very fair facility. If the general programming of a facility is sound, barring a mistake, you won’t have bad outcomes.”

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Rick Sherman shakes his head, mystified at Victoria’s outcome.

“Let’s see: “Was she on a suicide watch? No. Did she have a celly? No. Was she medicated consistently? No.”

His voice rises.

“They absolutely dropped the ball. Stuff like this shouldn’t happen to anybody. She wasn’t deranged. She had mental problems - fetal alcohol syndrome, cerebral palsy, bipolar and probably even post traumatic stress disorder.”

This is why they are consulting legal advice, he says.

“Naturally, we’re unhappy. We are dealing with it the best we can. For her sake and other people’s sake, I have to sue. It’s that simple. It’s not a money thing. It’s a human rights thing. Nobody should ever have to suffer like this.”

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Sherman says little information has been given to them about the details of the suicide — who found her, who took her down, or who called it in.

“We got a call about 10:30 that night from Van Buskirk,” he says. ” No preparation, just ‘Your daughter hung herself.’ “

Willard, Sherman’s sometimes cellmate, says she knows three people who were in jail the night Sherman hanged herself, and they said Burch is the officer who cut her down.  But that’s not even close to eyewitness territory.

This is the entire internal incident report, as far as the Shermans know:

7.22.08 Time Unknown … responded to man down 1A upon arrival to 1A inmate lying on floor (with) custody officers performing CPR and applying AED machine — ambu bag placed (with) oxygen — AED machine initiated (with) commands — Defibrillated (once) and CPR continued until LSUU arrived on scene — inmate non-responsive — hands bluish/bpurple in color — pale — CPR continued (with LSU), intubated and transported to Mercy via ambulance — s aguilar RN

The Shermans say they have tried talking with jail officials about their daughter’s life and death in custody — “to no avail.”

“What bothers me the most is the total lack of input and compassion when you talk to them — like talking to a wall,” Rick Sherman says. “I would not throw down on anybody, but these people…” He makes a face of frustration. “There is no input. They listened well. That’s all I can say.”

He says one lieutenant told him “she didn’t understand why I was there, as Vikki was an adult and should stand up for herself. I gave her a list of names of deputies and service officers that would back up Vikki’s statements as to how Burch was treating her, and to this day we have heard nothing about our complaints.”

He says another lieutenant he talked to agreed Burch “is a pain in the ass to him and definitely pushes the parameters. This was after a 38-year-old lady committed suicide. Vikki told us they took her (the 38-year-old’s) cellmate away and she hung herself. I asked (the lieutenant) if they needed another suicide, and he responded no. I stated to him if things didn’t change in Burch’s behavior, I was sure he was going to have one.”

They had a hard time getting copies of their daughter’s jail records after her death, he says.

“We kept asking, and they kept saying the records were ‘evidence.’ I says, ‘Evidence of what? A crime?’ Are you saying a crime has occurred? I would agree with that. Carol Burch is the Grim Reaper of the Shasta County Jail.”

He says the jail never told them about Sherman’s other suicide attempt, which took place Nov. 17, 2007, two years after the murder of her ex-boyfriend, the crime for which she was found guilty.

“She told us about that one, nobody else did,” he said. It was identical to the incident that finally did kill her. The emergency room referral says, “Found hanging in cell (with) sheet wrapped around her neck - unconscious - released from sheet - did have a pulse, (oxygen) placed and she woke up combative and yelling - to SRMC via ambulance …MD notified at 22:30.”

Diane Sherman simply says that despite the lack of official information about the July 22 suicide attempt, she believes her daughter “got in trouble somehow with Burch that day.”

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Custody deaths require a law-enforcement review. District Attorney Jerry Benito was asked to lead the multijurisdictional investigation in Sherman’s case. “My findings were that the death was caused by suicide and that there is no basis for a criminal charge against anyone.”

Rick Sherman says he recently was told the grand jury, which works in secret, is now looking into his daughter’s death.  Two independent law enforcement sources confirmed it is considering the case.

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Last words of Victoria Sherman, 21

I’m so tired of fighting and being an echo that no one hears. My life is already gone. I have no one and nothing. I’m so tired of no one understanding. I miss Kat. I miss my brothers, I miss my sister’s. I miss my momma and my Daddy. I lost my life because I couldn’t stand up for myself. I wanted so much more than this. I’ve suffered enough for people’s amusment and I’m done being caged! No one will ever hurt or betray me again. Those who love or care for me Don’t be sad. Smile because I am finally free. I don’t believe there is a Hell. And if there is a god, why has he turned his eyes from me, when I needed so desperatly to be heard and loved. Momma, tell my story, take it to Women’s Refuge. To the mission. Let me be heard so I did not suffer in vain. My last wish is that I help someone. Please send Ronnie a copy of my story and tell him I love him and I always wanted to be his Angel. Thank him for showing me what love is really like. Last but not least I would like to thank Deputy Burch, always able to kick me when I’m down. dig the knife in deeper. Believe it or not I pray for Deputy Burch because when karma hit’s her it will be a bitch. I’d like to thank her for all the times she humiliated me in front of the pod and showed me just how unloved and alone I am. I am now free. Not even Deputy Burch an hold me down. I love you Momma and Daddy. Remember I’m happy and free.

July 24, 2008. Time of death, 1:26 a.m.

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