Santa Rita Inmate Ends Hunger Strike: Report

DUBLIN, CA - An inmate at Santa Rita Jail ended a nearly two-week long hunger strike Monday, NBC News reported.

Jazz Svarda, 34, a former middleweight MMA fighter incarcerated after pleading guilty to stealing painkillers in a federal case, began a hunger strike in mid-April after swallowing a staple in his cereal and nearly choking on it, according to reports. Svarda told KTVU that he had to reach down his throat to pull it out, and alleges that he was not allowed to see body camera footage of who served the food.

Svarda believes the staple was placed there intentionally because he regularly files grievances and asks for staff badge numbers, his friend Hana Sallak, who is in regular contact with him, told NBC.

Svarda told the news outlet that he ended the strike because he feared staff would not help him if he faced a medical emergency. “I’m afraid if I go too far, they’ll just let me die. But I’m still holding them accountable, I’m still putting in grievances. I still haven’t eaten their food, because it’s traumatizing that trash is in the food. I don’t trust them.”

Jail spokesperson Lt. Tya Modeste told Patch that the jail's policy is to regularly monitor any inmate who begins a hunger strike, and Svarda was monitored regularly by Wellpath, the custodial medical partner. Records show that Svarda lost only two pounds since April 22, when he started the strike. Records also show that he has purchased $171 in commissary foods between April 2 and April 28. Svarda confirmed to NBC that he has eaten foods he purchased at the commissary.

Modeste also told Patch she is "unaware of any evidence that Svarda swallowed a staple."

The jail has seen several other strikes in recent years. In January 2022, about a dozen inmates launched a hunger strike to protest a sharp increase in commissary prices and poor conditions. In 2019, another strike was launched to protest unsanitary conditions, including alleged insects and vermin in the food, and mistreatment of drug-addicted inmates. The jail has also been the subject of numerous lawsuits and numerous deaths, most recently last Thursday.

In June 2022, a civil grand jury found that the jail was responsible for serious safety violations, inadequate medical services, poor sanitary conditions, and many other violations.

"The care of the incarcerated population is a priority, and we continually work to improve conditions of the jail," Modeste told Patch.