From [HERE] Inmates at Los Angeles County Jail — many with mental health issues— are sleeping next to urine-soaked floors and are forced to defecate in trash cans, according to shocking claims in a new lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. 

The group filed the request for an emergency order with US District Judge Dean D. Pregerson on Thursday to push Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva and the LA County Board of Supervisors to immediately address the “abysmal” conditions at the county jail’s inmate reception center. 

The suit also contains various pictures that show male inmates sleeping in a fetal position on the concrete floor without blankets and next to mounds of trash. Toilet bowls that are full and can’t be flushed are covered by a T-shirt, while inmates try to sleep nearby on filthy metal benches or seats.

“The L.A. County Jail system is a national disgrace,” said Corene Kendrick, deputy director of the ACLU National Prison Project. “For almost 50 years, the jail has been under court oversight to provide the most basic minimum standards of sanitation, health care, and human decency to people detained there. Enough is enough.” 

ACLU attorneys also claim inmates with serious mental health issues who need medical attention are often chained to chairs for days and are forced to sleep while sitting up. 

The LA County Jail houses more than 14,600 inmates and the jail’s inmate reception center is where recently arrested individuals are processed and held while they wait for a more permanent placement at the largest jail facility in the country. 

Under the emergency request, the ACLU is asking the court to order the county to limit the intake process to 24 hours at the most. 

LA County Sheriff’s Officials declined to comment because of the pending litigation.

In a statement to The Post, officials with the LA County’s Chief Executive Office said the Board of Supervisors are working to address the crisis in the jail with the “Care First, Jail Last” initiative that’s focused on closing the Men’s Central Jail and investing $288 million to “alternatives” to incarceration. 

The alternative program includes building community partnerships with community-based organizations to reduce incarceration in LA County with youth programs, provide mental health programs and create jobs for incarcerated individuals. [MORE]