The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office (SSO), is a local law enforcement agency that serves Sacramento County, California. It provides general-service law enforcement to unincorporated areas of Sacramento County, as well as incorporated cities within the county that have contracted with the agency for law-enforcement services. Currently only Rancho Cordova, and Isleton has such a contract with the department since the Citrus Heights and Elk Grove Police Departments assumed all police authority and responsibility for their communities in 2006. It also holds primary jurisdiction over facilities operated by Sacramento County, such as local parks, marinas, and government buildings[citation needed]; provides marshal service for the Sacramento County Superior Court; operates the Sacramento County Jail and the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center in Elk Grove; and provides services such as laboratories and academy training to smaller law-enforcement agencies within the county. The county sheriff is currently Jim Cooper.
The Sacramento Sheriff's Office currently issues versions of the 9mm Glock. Deputies also have less lethal items that are issued to them including but not limited to an X26 taser, expandable baton, and OC spray.
The first elected sheriff of Sacramento County was Joseph McKinney.[1] In 1850, McKinney and his deputies were involved in a series of confrontations with Gold Rush-era squatters around the city of Sacramento. McKinney was killed in one such confrontation in August 1850.[1]
Sheriff Don Cox approved the formation of a Sheriff's Air Squadron in the late 1930s or early 1940s, prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor.[2] The Squadron was inactive during World War II as a result of restrictions on civil aviation near the California coast.[2] After the war ended, it became active again and began to undertake support activities for the Sheriff's Department, including prisoner transfers and search and rescue activities.[2]
The Sheriff's Department underwent significant changes in the 1970s. In the 1970 Sheriff's election, the Deputy Sheriff's Association voiced support for challenger Duane Lowe against incumbent John Misterly, following disagreements regarding deputies' training and pay.[3] Lowe was elected in a run-off election, and during the next six years oversaw efforts to modernize the Sheriff's Department, extend new services to the community, and improve pay and working conditions for deputies.[3]
The Sheriff's Department's canine detail was created in 1979.[4]
In 1998, Theodore Kaczynski was held by the Sacramento Sheriff's Department on suicide watch during pre-trial interviews to determine his competency to stand trial and act as his own lawyer during criminal proceedings.[5]
In 2001, multiple-murderer Nikolay Soltys, one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted, was captured by the Sacramento Sheriff's Department following one of the largest manhunts in Sacramento history.[6]
The 1991 Sacramento Hostage Crisis occurred on April 4, 1991, when four people took hostages at a Good Guys! Electronics store located at the Florin Mall. The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department Special Enforcement Detail (SED) and Critical Incident Negations Team (CINT) handled the incident.[citation needed]
The local media broadcast the crisis during which hostage takers lined up some of the hostages in front of the entrance as human shields. After which a twenty-year-old male hostage was shot in the leg released to deliver the gang's message and plight to the local media. They claimed they were trying to draw attention to the troubles of their home country and that they were on a suicide mission. During the rescue attempt three hostages as well as three of the four hostage-takers were killed and fourteen hostages were injured. The situation was the largest hostage rescue operation in U.S. history, with over 50 hostages being held at gunpoint.[7]
Fallen officers
Since the establishment of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, 22 officers have died in the line of duty.[8]
Multiple credible allegations of brutality, abuse, mismanagement, and cover-ups by deputies and leadership have been levelled against the department under the supervision of multiple department heads, including current Sheriff Jim Cooper, previous Sheriff Scott Jones, and many at the Sacramento County Jail while under the supervision of then Undersheriff John McGinness and then Officer Jim Cooper in his previous position with the department. The Sacramento Bee has documented many such cases in its Watchdog Reports.
Sherrano Stingley
On December 6, 2022, Sherrano Stingley, a beloved father and grandfather,[9] was severely tased by Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies and held down with a on his daughter's block, officially dying 10 days later in the ICU, haveing never recovered consciousness. The details of his behavior and condition at the scene are in dispute, with deputies saying he was violently resisting arrest and refusing to comply with orders, and the family saying he was experiencing a mental health episode and was unnecessarily brutalized.[10]
Sheriff Cooper released only one highly edited bodycam of two videos stitched together out of sequnce,[11] and a statement that paints the victim as a career criminal, without acknowledging his mental health or community support. Sheriff Cooper has defiantly refused to release any more video, in violation of CA Assembly Bill 748, a state law that requires body camera footage from critical incidents involving law enforcement to be made available for public inspection within 45 days.[12]
Stingley's family has filed a wrongful death suit.[13] The case is pending.
Maurice Holley
On October 6, 2019, Maurice Holley was shot by a Sacramento County Sheriff's deputy 9 times while on the ground. He was found asleep in a ditch by officers who were called by neighbors reporting a man with a gun was on their property.[14] They apparently knew the victim, saying he had been reported for carrying weapons before. The officer claimed Holley reached for a handgun in his waistband and fired, fearing for his life.[14] It turned out to be an airsoft gun a recreational toy that shoots plastic pellets with non-lethal force.[15]
His widow sued the department for wrongful death, her lawyer citing the excessive number of shots fired. The Sacramento DA's office cleared the deputies of any misconduct.[16]
Marshall Miles
On October 27, 2019 Marshall Miles was found unresponsive on the floor minutes after he was hogtied while he was being booked and then left facedown, with his wrists still tied to his ankles behind him, on the floor of a Sacramento County Jail cell.[17]
Sacramento Sheriff Scott Jones refused to release video from the jail for months, finally doing so after ongoing public pressure. It showed that Miles had struggled with the officers who subdued him, shouting "I can't breathe". He died on November 1.
The coroner listed his official cause of death as “complications of cardiopulmonary arrest during restraint and mixed drug intoxication,” noting the presence of narcotics in his system and blunt force injuries to his body.
Miles was arrested for erratic behavior, including jumping on cars, and resisting arrest.
Mykel McIntyre
On May 8, 2017, Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies shot at McIntyre 28 times, hitting him with 7 bullets, after he threw rocks at an officer and a police dog.[18] Three hours earlier, they had responded to his mother's call for help with a mental health check for her son. McIntyre suffered from mental illness, and was in crisis at the time of his killing.
The Inspector Generals report found the killing to be legal because 8 armed officers and the canine were in credible danger from the otherwise unarmed man.
Ellis' family claimed they shot him while he was running away. Sheriff Scott Jones refused to release body or camera footage to the family or the public, and had a notoriously hostile relationship with the Inspector General.
Ryan Ellis
On May 5, 2017 Ryan Ellis died in the hospital under deputy's custody due to injuries suffered while being arrested for a parole violation the day before. While detained in a police vehicle, Ellis kicked out a back window of the moving vehicle. The deputy driving the vehicle did not stop the car for over half a mile, when Ellis went through the open window.[19]
The Inspector General reported that the deputies had not fastened Ellis' seatbelt nor turned on the in- car camera - two violations of department policy for which they received written reprimands - but determined that Ellis had jumped out of the window as opposed to being thrown from the vehicle, partially because methamphetamine was present in his system.
Adriene Ludd
On October 11, 2015, Adriene Ludd was shot 13 times, including while lying on the ground, by Sacramento County deputies after fleeing in his vehicle during a traffic stop for expired registration tags on his car. Deputies claimed Ludd had a weapon that he pointed at the deputies, instigating a shootout. They recovered an Intratec Tec-22 semi-automatic pistol with a clear plastic high-capacity magazine at the scene.[20] Ludd's family disputed that he owned any guns, however, the county Inspector General cleared three deputies of misconduct charges, citing that the dash cam footage showed Ludd aiming the gun at the deputies therefore they were in legitimate fear for their lives.
Black Lives Matter staged a peaceful protest after Sheriff Scott Jones declined to release dashcam and body-camera footage or the coroner’s report, citing the ongoing investigation.[21][22]
Branden Johnson
On October 29, 2005, Branden Johnson was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and taken to Sacramento County Jail. He told the Sacramento Bee that during his incarceration, "deputies beat him when he was shackled hand and foot, repeatedly slamming him to the ground." The department denied the allegations and provided an 11-minute video clip from Johnson's 14-hour incarceration, showing Johnson allegedly banging his head against the wall. Johnson stated that he'd like to see the whole video but Undersheriff John McGinness, in charge of operations at the jail, declined to immediately provide the rest of the footage.[23]
Don Anthony Antoine
On June 19, 2004, Don Antoine was arrested by Sacramento Police officers on charges of assaulting a firefighter, driving under the influence of alcohol, and possession of nunchucks after he ran his car off the Arden-Garden Connector in the Gardenland neighborhood of Sacramento and started a fight with firefighters who responded to the accident.[24] He accused deputies of using excessive force when he says they kicked, punched, beat, and choked him while shackling him to the floor grate in a Sacramento County Jail cell, an event that the deputies deny even took place. On April 16, 2008, a federal grand jury awarded Antoine $170,000 after they found the deputies acted maliciously when they beat him, and one of the jurors was quoted saying the deputies "chained him to a grate like a dog."[25]
Jafar Afshar
On June 7, 2003, ex-Marine Jafar Afshar was arrested for public intoxication, charges that were dropped the next morning. During booking, his handcuffs were taken off and he was immediately thrown to the ground, splitting his head open and leaving a pool of blood on the floor. A year later, Afshar filed a federal lawsuit (Afshar v. County of Sacramento) alleging violations of 42U.S.C.§1983. The only officer named in the lawsuit, Officer Spaid, said in his incident report that Afshar "swung toward him."[26] Afshar received two sets of videotape, the first showing no incident and the second with missing video, which Afshar's attorney called a cover-up.[27]
Mihaita Constantin
Mihaita Constantin, a 33-year-old Romanian immigrant, was arrested on July 14, 2003, on suspicion of drunk driving. While in one of the holding cells, he refused to sit. Five deputies rushed in, handcuffed Constantin, and scuffled with him for well over 5 minutes, putting a towel over his head. Constantin was left semi-conscious, towel still over his head, with a broken hand, fractured nose, and severe bruises; no officers were injured. On June 29, 2004, Constantin filed a federal lawsuit against the department alleging violations of his civil rights; he was later found dead in a crashed car on a mountain slope near Blue Canyon. His wife has returned to Europe but is continuing the lawsuit.[26]
Darryl O'Brien
In 2002, 52-year-old Darryl O'Brien, a woman with no previous criminal record, was "dropped," fracturing her knee. After her handcuffs were removed, her arm was yanked so hard behind her back that her shoulder was fractured. Her claim against the county was later settled for $7,500.[28]
Michael Hay
On December 22, 2000, Sacramento State student Michael Hay was drunk in his apartment when Sheriff's Deputy Rebecca Eubanks came to his apartment about loud music. Hay stated he would keep it down and told Eubanks "You know, you're kind of cute." Eubanks left the apartment. Within a few minutes, Sheriff's Deputy Robert Book arrived at the apartment door. Book said Hay was belligerent toward him and interfered with him finding out what was going on, so Book "handcuffed him and walked him downstairs." Book and Eubanks arrested him for being drunk in public; the charges were later dropped and Book was reprimanded because his "arrest of Michael Hay was without legal authority." While Hay was being booked at the Sacramento County Jail, staff made repeated comments about what his stay was going to be like. Eubanks said, "We're really, really bored and we need somebody to play with, so you're it, OK?" Later the staff nurse warned him that "they like to hurt people around here" and an unidentified officer made a shadow-boxing motion. When Hay was searched, Deputy Santos Ramos and another deputy twisted both arms with such force that Hay's right arm broke. After spending the night with a broken arm and no medical attention, he was released and sought medical care three days later. In 2002, Hay settled a lawsuit against the department for $147,500. Deputies at the jail were counseled for failing to report the injury, but not the injury itself.[26]
Troy Zwierzynski
In 1999, Troy Zwierzynski had surrendered himself at the jail to complete a work project as part of a misdemeanor sentence. While in a holding cell, he said, he heard a man screaming and turned to look. A deputy ordered Zwierzynski to look away, and "slammed him against the wall violently twisting back his wrists and arms," the complaint states. "The deputies asked (him) if he was going to look the next time. ... Plaintiff, in tears, responded that he would not look again." His wrist was broken, and he later received a settlement of $35,000.[28]
Judson King
In 1998, a deputy at the jail ordered Judson King to move faster, to which he replied, "I am." King claimed that his elbow was immediately fractured, and later received a settlement of $35,000.[28]
The Orange County Sheriff's Department (OCSD) is the law enforcement agency serving Orange County, California. It currently serves the unincorporated areas of Orange County and thirteen contract cities in the county: Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Stanton, Villa Park, and Yorba Linda.
The Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), formerly known as the Metro-Dade Police Department (1981–1997), Dade County Public Safety Department (1957–1981), and the Dade County Sheriff's Office (1836–1957), is a county police department serving Miami-Dade County. The MDPD has approximately 4,700 employees, making it the largest police department in the southeastern United States and the eighth largest in the country. The department is still often referred by its former name, the Metro-Dade Police or simply Metro.
The Ventura County Sheriff's Office (VCSO), also sometimes known as the Ventura County Sheriff's Department (VCSD), provides law enforcement for the unincorporated areas of Ventura County, California as well as several cities within the county. The cities that Ventura County Sheriff's Office provides police services for are Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai, and Thousand Oaks.
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) is the primary law enforcement agency for Hillsborough County, Florida and is responsible for law enforcement services for the 888 square miles (2,300 km2) of unincorporated areas of the county as well as operation of the two jail facilities and a work release center, and provides courthouse security for the 13th Judicial Circuit. Each of the three incorporated cities has its own police agency. Tampa International Airport and the University of South Florida also have independent police agencies.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office is the largest law enforcement agency in Lake County, Florida, United States. Per the State of Florida Constitution, the sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer of both the incorporated and unincorporated areas of the county. The current Sheriff is Peyton C. Grinnell who was elected November, 2016 in the Lake County general election. He succeeds Sheriff Gary Borders, who was appointed by Governor Jeb Bush following the death of Sheriff Chris Daniels in 2006, and was subsequently elected in 2008, and 2012. The agency has been awarded with a certificate of accreditation from the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation, consequently, both the Law Enforcement and Corrections divisions of the Lake County Sheriff's Office are now accredited.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department (RSD), also known as the Riverside Sheriff's Office (RSO), is a law enforcement agency in Riverside County, in the U.S. state of California. Overseen by an elected sheriff-coroner, the department serves unincorporated areas of Riverside County as well as some of the incorporated cities in the county by contract. 17 of the county's 26 cities, with populations ranging from 4,958 to 193,365, contract with the department for police services. The county hospital and one tribal community also contract with the department for proactive policing. Riverside County is home to 12 federally recognized Indian reservations. Absent proactive policing and traffic enforcement, the department is responsible for enforcing criminal law on all Native American tribal land within the county. This function is mandated by Public Law 280, enacted in 1953, which transferred the responsibility of criminal law enforcement on tribal land from the federal government to specified state governments including California. The department also operates the county's jail system.
The Sacramento Police Department (SPD) is the police department for the city of Sacramento, California. On August 11, 2017, Daniel Hahn was sworn in and became the city's first African American police chief.
Multnomah County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) serves the close to 700,000 residents of Multnomah County, Oregon, United States. Multnomah County Sheriff's Office is a County Law Enforcement agency that handles 9-1-1 calls and assists other city agencies such as Portland Police Bureau. The current Sheriff is Michael Reese. The cities of Maywood Park, Wood Village, Fairview, and Troutdale contract out the law enforcement services of Multnomah County Sheriff's Office.
In the United States, a sheriff is an important official of a shire or county charged primarily with judicial duties. In the United States, a sheriff is one of the chief administrative offices in the country. It is his duty to take charge of prisoners, to oversee juries, and to prevent breaches of the peace. Sheriffs are usually elected, although some states have laws requiring certain qualifications of candidates. Elected sheriffs are accountable directly to the citizens of their county, the constitution of their state, and ultimately the United States Constitution.
The Alameda County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) is a law enforcement agency serving Alameda County, California. ACSO is accredited through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), the American Correctional Association (ACA), National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) and the California Medical Association (CMA).
The New York City Sheriff's Office (NYCSO), officially the Office of the Sheriff of the City of New York, is the primary civil law enforcement agency for New York City. The Sheriff's Office is a division of the New York City Department of Finance, operating as an enforcement arm. The Sheriff's Office handles investigations concerning cigarette tax enforcement, real estate property/deed fraud and other matters deemed necessary by the Department of Finance.
The Frederick County Sheriff's Office (FCSO) is the primary law enforcement agency serving a population of 222,938 residents within the 662.88 square miles (1,717 km2) area of Frederick County, Maryland.
The Cook County Sheriff's Office is the principal law enforcement agency that serves Cook County, Illinois. It is the second largest sheriff's department in the United States, with over 6,900 members when at full operational strength. It is headed by the Cook County Sheriff, currently Thomas Dart.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner's Department (SBSD) serves San Bernardino County, California, which is geographically the largest county in the United States and is headquartered in San Bernardino city. SBSD provides law enforcement services to the unincorporated areas of the county and contract law enforcement services to 14 of the county's cities, including Rancho Cucamonga and Chino Hills, serving a total of 1,029,466 of the county's 2 million residents. The department also operates the county jail system, provides marshal services for the county superior courts, and has numerous other specialized divisions to serve the citizens of San Bernardino County.
The History of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department began with its founding in 1850 as the first professional police force in the Los Angeles area.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States and the fourth largest local police agency in the United States, following the New York Police Department (NYPD), the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and the Los Angeles municipal Police Department (LAPD). LASD has approximately 18,000 employees, 9,915 sworn deputies and 9,244 unsworn members. It is sometimes confused with the unrelated Los Angeles Police Department which provides law enforcement service within the city of Los Angeles, which is the county seat of Los Angeles County.
The Columbia Police Department (CPD) is the principal law enforcement agency serving the city of Columbia, Missouri in the United States. It protects a metropolitan population of nearly 127,000 with 187 sworn police officers.
The Will County Sheriff's Office is the principal law enforcement agency that serves Will County, Illinois. It is the second largest sheriff's department in Illinois, with approximately 650 sworn and civilian employees when at full operational strength. It is headed by the Sheriff of Will County, currently Mike Kelley.
Sarasota County Sheriff's Office (SSO) is the primary law enforcement agency for Sarasota County, Florida. The agency is responsible for law enforcement services in unincorporated areas of Sarasota County, jail facilities, and courthouse security for Florida's 12th Judicial Circuit. SSO also operates Public Safety Communications (PSC), the county's primary 911 center.
On August 21, 2022, Randal Ray Worcester, a 27-year-old white man, was violently arrested in Mulberry, Arkansas, United States by three law enforcement officers: Crawford County Sheriff deputies Zack King and Levi White, and Mulberry police officer Thell Riddle. A bystander's video of the arrest was posted online that day and spread widely across social media. By the next day, the three officers had been suspended with pay while state and federal authorities investigated the officers. Worcester filed a federal lawsuit against the officers and their departments eight days after the incident.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
