Trainee corrections officer, with a month on the job, found dead inmate

BY ADRIANA HERNANDEZ
Daily Post Staff Writer 

A San Mateo County trainee, who had only been on the job for a month and was working overtime, discovered an inmate — convicted in the drag-racing deaths of a San Carlos couple — dead in his cell, according to a report. 

Deputy Sheriff Trainee Maxwell Rauenbuehler, who had not received training on handling deaths, was working overtime when another inmate asked him to check on Kyle Harrison. Harrison, who had been prescribed three medications, died from a combination of them, according to an investigative report by the District Attorney’s Office.  

Rauenbuehler was hired by the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 3. He is a non-sworn employee awaiting placement in a law enforcement academy. According to a report by Inspector Ken Cochran, he is currently undergoing training in the Jail Training and Orientation program. 

Rauenbuehler had no prior experience in law enforcement, corrections, or the military, according to the report. His training included two weeks of orientation, half a day at a firing range, and another half day focused on defensive tactics. Additionally, he spent two days at the Maguire Correctional Center and 11 days at the Maple Street Correctional Center.

Attempts to reach Rauenbuehler for comment on this story were unsuccessful.

Training shorter than normal

During the 11 days, Rauenbuehler was trained for four days in monitoring and controlling various security, communication and emergency systems. Another four days were spent in training in the housing units and three days of training in the “rover” unit, which secures the perimeters of the jails and checks security and fire systems. 

Deputy sheriff trainees typically undergo a year of training, according to sheriff’s spokeswoman Gretchen Spiker. The total training period is approximately seven to eight months, Spiker said in an email.  

Trainees are paired with training officers to learn the ropes and are guided until they have passed their jail training program, sheriff’s spokeswoman Heather Enders said.  

Rauenbuehler was interviewed by Cochran and told him that, due to staffing being low, he was assigned to the housing unit where Harrison was, according to his report.  

Rauenbuehler had only been at that housing unit once before his shift during his rover training, the report states.  

The day of Harrison’s death

On March 15, Rauenbuehler was reading a required training packet when he received a ping on the intercom from an inmate asking him to come, the report stated. 

When Rauenbuehler opened the door, inmates told him Harrison wasn’t breathing, the report said. Harrison was covered with a blanket, and when Rauenbuehler removed it, he saw his lips were purple, the report stated.  

Rauenbuehler ran downstairs to get Narcan, the drug that reverses an opioid overdose. 

As he ran downstairs, he put out a “Code Blue” alert on the radio and came back with two doses of Narcan, but Harrison did not react, according to the report.  

Rauenbuehler told Cochran that he wasn’t sure if the code he sent out had been transmitted over the radio and had received help from the inmates to move Harrison from his top bunk to the floor, the report stated.  

Rauenbuehler then went to a telephone to tell other correctional staff there was a dead inmate, the report stated. Only then did additional staff and medical nurses arrive, Cochran’s report said.  

Wasn’t trained in CPR

Rauenbuehler was asked whether he attempted CPR, to which he responded that he hadn’t been trained to do so, according to the report. He also stated that he had not been trained in administering Narcan.  

Rauenbuehler was the only officer in the housing unit that day, according to the report.  

The Sheriff’s Office did not respond to further questions on Rauenbuehler’s shift because it relates to an ongoing investigation.  

Understaffed

On June 17, the Sheriff’s Office issued a statement stating that the investigation was complete.  

San Mateo County Undersheriff Dan Perea stated that the jail is understaffed and officers are working overtime during a Sheriff’s Office Civilian Advisory Commission meeting.  

Six inmates have died in the jail since Sheriff Christina Corpus took office in January 2023. Of the six inmates who died, two committed suicide, three died from drug overdoses and one died of cancer.  

In May, Corpus announced that she was implementing a hiring freeze after receiving so many applicants for trainee positions. She stopped hiring new correctional officers and deputy trainees, Spiker said at the time.

Others who died in the jails

Six county jail inmates died since Corpus became sheriff including Harrison. The others are:

• Maycarla Sulapas, 25, of South San Francisco, who was jailed for attacking a relative and acting erratically including being naked in the street. She had lethal levels of meth in her system when she died Jan. 7, 2023, the District Attorney’s office said.

• Peter Edward McLaughlin, 64 of Pacifica, who was arrested for threatening another person with a firearm. He died in the jail on Oct. 20, 2023 from brain cancer, which hadn’t been diagnosed previously.

• Ronald Simmons, 34, of San Bruno, who had been arrested for battery and making criminal threats. Authorities said Simmons had a history of depression and his death on Oct. 21, 2023 was ruled a suicide.

• Anthony Harding, 23, of Oakland, died Jan. 14, 2024 in the jail’s drug detox unit after his arrest for misappropriating lost property and resisting arrest.

• Hunter Bergner, 46, of Redwood City, died March 15, 2024 of an apparent suicide, though the final cause hasn’t been released. He was arrested for violating a protective order and possessing a gun against a court order.