The Sacramento Police Department has concluded the administrative investigation into the incident that occurred on Grand Avenue and Cypress Street involving a Sacramento Police officer and a pedestrian.         

On April 10, 2017, at approximately 5:00 p.m., a uniformed patrol officer attempted to stop a pedestrian at the intersection of Cypress Street and Grand Avenue.  The officer’s In-Car Camera (ICC) system was activated at the time of this incident and captured the interaction.  Additionally, a person known to the pedestrian videotaped a portion of the incident with her camera phone.

The video captured a verbal exchange in the street between the officer and pedestrian over allegations of “jaywalking”.  When the pedestrian did not follow the officer’s directions, the officer charged the pedestrian to take him into custody.  In the video, the officer is seen throwing the pedestrian to the ground and begins to strike him in the face with his hands.  Within a few moments, additional officers arrived to assist in handcuffing the subject.

As with any use of force incident and per Department policy, a supervisor was summoned to the scene to conduct a use of force investigation into the officer’s actions.  Once on scene, the officer’s supervisor reviewed the ICC system and immediately notified his chain of command for further evaluation.

Simultaneous to the review and notification process, the passerby uploaded her video to social media where it was viewed by neighborhood leaders and City Management staff.  The next day, the Sacramento Police Department (SPD) released In-Car Camera video of the incident and a press release of the details known at the time. 

Below are the press releases related to the incident including links to the in-car camera video:

https://www.sacpd.org/newsroom/releases/liveview.aspx?release_id=20170411-040

https://www.sacpd.org/newsroom/releases/liveview.aspx?release_id=20170411-041

After reviewing the reports, recordings and other materials provided by SPD, on July 31, 2017, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office concluded that it was not reasonably likely a jury would convict either the officer or the pedestrian of a criminal offense related to this incident.

At this time, the administrative investigation has been completed by the Sacramento Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division. The scope of the investigation focused on policy, procedure, training, and tactics.  The officer involved in the incident has returned to work in a modified duty assignment while he receives training that was missed during his leave.  The training includes 40 hours of Continuous Professional Training (CPT), 40 hours of Crisis Intervention Training (CIT), 20 hours of Emergency Vehicle Operations Course (EVOC), and 4 hours of Body-Worn Camera training.  All SPD officers receive the same training.  Once the officer is up to date on his training, he will be assigned to patrol operations.

The administrative investigation into the officer’s actions related to this incident is considered part of the officer’s personnel file.  Unless specified, under Sections 832.7 and 832.8 of the California Penal Code, the release of material or information contained in an officer’s personnel file is prohibited by law. 

As a result, this law prohibits the Department from releasing the specific details or results of the administrative investigation into this incident. This includes the final disposition or the case as well as any proposed discipline.  However, this incident has provided SPD with an opportunity to review our systems, policies, and practices related to training and tactics to ensure they are in line with best practices throughout the nation. 

Crisis Intervention Training (CIT), scenario-based de-escalation training, additional less-lethal force options, body-worn cameras (BWC) and changes to our use of force policy are ongoing initiatives designed to give SPD officers the tools, training, and skills to effectively deal with conflicts in dynamic environments.  

Moving forward, SPD will conduct a comprehensive review of our policy and training related to police use of force.  Department personnel and members of our community will assist with this review to ensure that the policies and training work for Sacramento.    In addition, we will have our use of force training reviewed by national experts outside of SPD to ensure our training curriculum and methodology is in line with national best practices and standards.

We are confident that this local and national level review of the Sacramento Police Department’s use of force policy and training will result in increased transparency, accountability and improved outcomes for our community.   

Throughout the administrative and criminal review of this case, the Director of the Office of Public Safety Accountability had complete access to the investigation and reviewed all associated material. 

The Sacramento Police Department recognizes the significant impact this incident has had on our community.  We understand the challenges that we face as we work together to heal our community, build trust and move forward.  We are committed to building healthy neighborhoods in our city, where every person has an opportunity to thrive.  We will continue to listen to our community and work together to achieve that vision.  We look forward to our future; together.