Sacramento County Sheriff's Department
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; 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 Scott Jones.
| Sacramento County Sheriff's Office | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Seal of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office | |
| Abbreviation | SSO |
| Motto | "Service with Concern!" |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1850 |
| Annual budget | $403 million (2011-2012) |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | Sacramento, California, U.S. |
 | |
| Map of Sacramento County Sheriff's Office's jurisdiction. | |
| Size | 995 square miles (2,580 km2) |
| Population | 2,000,000 |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Sacramento, California |
| Agency executive | |
| Facilities | |
| Stations | 6 |
| Jails | 2 |
| Helicopters | 4 |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
Weapons
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.
Organization
Sheriff Scott Jones
Office of the Sheriff
- Community Relations Unit
- Legislative Affairs
- Media and Public Affairs
- Sheriff's Outreach Community Advisory Board
- Special Investigations/Intelligence Bureau
- Bingo Licensing
- ATF Task Force
- Anti-Terrorism
- Business License/Labor Relations
- Criminal Intelligence/Organized Crime
- F.B.I. Joint Terrorism Task Force
- Gambling/Vice Operations
- Gun Permits
- Pawn/Secondhand Dealers
Office of the Undersheriff - Erik Maness
- Fleet Services
Contract and Regional Services
- Airport Division
- Civil Bureau
- Court Security Division
- B.T. Collins Juvenile Courthouse
- Carol Miller Justice Center
- Gordon D. Schaber Facility
- William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Court
- Folsom Dam Bureau
- Security Services
- Children's Services
- DA
- DHA
- DHHS
- Regional Transit Police Services
- Threat Management
- Traffic Bureau
Correctional Services
- Correctional Food Services
- Correctional Health
- Main Jail
- Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center
- Work Release Division
- Alternative Sentencing Program
- Child Support Revenue Recovery
- Home Detention
- Revenue Recovery Warrant Unit
- Sheriff's Work Project
- Toy Project
Field and Investigative Services
- Air Operations
- Bicycle Rapid Response
- Critical Incident Negotiation Team (CINT)
- Emergency Operations
- Explosive Ordnance Detail (Bomb Squad)
- Off-Duty Employment
- Patrol Training
- Regional Terrorism Threat Assessment Center (R.T.T.A.C)
- Search and Rescue
- Special Enforcement Detail
- Volunteer Services
- Central Division
- Canine
- Florin Service Center
- Marine Enforcement
- Rancho Murieta Safety Center
- Walnut Grove Service Center
- Centralized Investigations Division
- ACE (Auto Crimes Enforcement)
- Child Abuse
- Cold Case Investigations
- Crimes Against Persons
- Electronic Tracking System
- Felony Assault
- Homicide Bureau
- Major Crimes
- Missing Persons
- Property Crimes
- Robbery
- S.A.F.E
- Sheriff's Amateur Radio Program (SHARP)
- Sexual Assault/Elder Abuse
-
- Hi-Tech Crimes Bureau
- Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force
- Identity Theft
- Internet Crimes Against Children
- Hi-Tech Crimes Bureau
-
- Impact Bureau
- California Multi-agency Methamphetamine Enforcement Team (CAL-MMET)
- Gang Suppression
- High Impact Drug Trafficking Area Grant (HIDTA)
- Intelligence
- Specialized Equipment Operations
- Youth Services
- Impact Bureau
- North Division
- Dewey Service Center
- Rio Linda Service Center
- Rancho Cordova Police Department
Support Services
-
- Human Resources
- Field Support Division
- Forensics & Evidence Bureau
- Live Scan
- Forensics (formerly Identification)
- Property
- Court Liaison
- Forensics & Evidence Bureau
-
- Communication & Records Bureau
- Records and Warrants
- Communications
- Radio Shop
- Communication & Records Bureau
-
- Information Intelligence Bureau
- Intelligence Operations
- Technical Operations
- Security Operations
- Asset Management
- Information Intelligence Bureau
-
- Professional Standards Division
- Emergency Vehicle Operations Course (EVOC)
- Employee Relations
- Fair Employment
- Training and Education Division
- Academy
- Emergency Vehicle Operations Course (EVOC)
- Firearms Training Unit
- In-Service Training
- Internal Affairs
- Legal Affairs
- Pre-Employment
- Recruiting
- Professional Standards Division
History
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]
1991 Sacramento hostage crisis
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.
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]
| Officer | Date of Death | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Sheriff Joseph McKinney | Gunfire | |
| Captain Charles J. Ogle | Automobile accident | |
| Deputy Sheriff William L. Littlejohn | Vehicular assault | |
| Deputy Sheriff Roger L. Bauman | Gunfire | |
| Deputy Sheriff Kenneth B. Royal | Gunfire | |
| Corporal Bruce Roger Verhoeven | Gunfire | |
| Deputy Sheriff Stewart Porter Baird | Assault | |
| Christopher W. Boone | Gunfire | |
| Deputy Sheriff Eugene M. Luther | Gunfire | |
| Detective David E. Miller | Vehicle pursuit | |
| Sergeant Richard Earl Deffner | Gunfire | |
| Deputy Sheriff Sandra Lee Larson | Automobile accident | |
| Deputy Sheriff Joseph Michael Kievernagel | Aircraft accident | |
| Deputy Sheriff Kevin Patrick Blount | Aircraft accident | |
| Deputy Sheriff Jeffrey Vaughn Mitchell | Gunfire | |
| Deputy Sheriff Vu Nguyen | Gunfire | |
| Deputy Sheriff Paul William Derouen | Struck by vehicle | |
| Deputy Sheriff Lawrence William Canfield | Motorcycle accident | |
| Deputy Sheriff Danny Oliver | Gunfire | |
| Deputy Sheriff Robert French | Gunfire | |
| Deputy Sheriff Mark Stasyuk | Gunfire | |
| Deputy Sheriff Adam Gibson | Gunfire | |
Alleged misconduct
The department has been the target of multiple accusations of brutality, abuse, mismanagement, and cover-ups by deputies, many at the Sacramento County Jail while under the supervision of then Undersheriff John McGinness. The Sacramento Bee has documented many such cases in its Watchdog Reports.
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.[9]
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.[9]
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. [10]
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.[9]
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 42 U.S.C. ยง 1983. The only officer named in the lawsuit, Officer Spaid, said in his incident report that Afshar "swung toward him."[10] 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.[11]
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.[10]
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.[12]
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.[13] 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."[14]
References
- Josephn McKinney Memorial Archived 2008-05-13 at the Wayback Machine
- "History of Sheriff's Air Squadron". Archived from the original on 2013-02-01. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
- "History of the SCDSA". Archived from the original on 2008-08-20. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
- SSDk9.com About
- Psychiatrist's Interviews With Kaczynski May Serve a Dual Purpos
- Sacramento County Sheriff Discusses Soltys' Arrest
- Taclink -Sacramento County Sheriff's Department SED
- The Officer Down Memorial Page
- "Excess-force sheriff's cases cost $3.9 million". Sacramento Bee. November 3, 2005. p. A1. Archived from the original on 2007-11-28.
- "Watchdog report: Suit alleges jail brutality". Sacramento Bee. October 30, 2005. p. A1. Archived from the original on 2008-02-14.
- "Main Jail's videos are crucial in brutality suits". Sacramento Bee. March 24, 2006. p. A1. Archived from the original on November 28, 2007.
- "Panel seeks jail task force". Sacramento Bee. November 2, 2005. p. A1. Archived from the original on November 28, 2007.
- Walsh, Denny (2008-04-03). "Sacramento jury hears two versions of jailed man's injuries". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
- Walsh, Denny (2008-04-03). "Man awarded $170,000 for being restrained in Sacramento jail". Associated Press. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
External links
Californian sheriff's departments and offices | |
|---|---|
| Counties |
|
| |
