SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Across the nation, 2022 was a record year for the number of people who died at the hands of law enforcement, whether shot, beaten, restrained, or tasered.
That’s according to a non-profit research group called Mapping Police Violence, which tracks these deadly incidents.
California, however, saw its lowest number of deaths since the group started tracking data in 2013, with 139 people killed by law enforcement across the state, though that was still the highest number among all the states — due in part to California being the most populous state. California’s deadliest year was in 2015 when 201 people died at the hands of law enforcement.
One of those Californians who died in 2022 was 48-year-old Sherrano Stingley. ABC10 has been closely following this story.
Stingley died in the hospital days after going unconscious during an arrest by Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies — that was back in December. The Sheriff’s Office says they were responding to a report of a man under someone’s truck in a Sacramento County neighborhood. Stingley’s family says — he was having a mental health crisis and was searching for his daughter’s home in the same neighborhood.
At a memorial and march for Stingley Sunday, ABC10 asked family and supporters how they see his death fitting into a broader picture.
On Sunday afternoon, dozens of people gathered at Florin Square to remember Sherrano Stingley.
"I'm trying not to cry today, but I just miss him. I miss his smile. I miss his bald head. I miss his ears. I miss his voice,” daughter Dymin Stingley said. “He was a human being and he should still be here. We should not be celebrating this. We should be celebrating his birthday with all these posters."
Stingley’s daughter – 20-year-old Dymin Stingley – remembers her dad as a man who loved his family, who had a megawatt smile and who was the life of the party.
Family and friends say he was taken too soon.
"They took a whole life that we never get back. They took my memory. They took my protector,” Dymin Stingley said. “I'm coming and I'm not going to stop. I'm going to get justice."
Stingley became unconscious during an arrest on Dec. 6. The Sacramento County Sherriff’s Office has released one angle of body camera video. It shows he initially complied with deputies, but then a struggle started. By the fourth minute, Stingley appeared to pass out. He was taken to the hospital, where the coroner’s office pronounced him dead 10 days later.
Now, Stingley’s family has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Sacramento County and the Sheriff’s Office.
The Sheriff’s Office tells ABC10 — they have a longstanding policy of not commenting on pending litigation.
On Sunday evening, at a march organized by Black Lives Matter Sacramento, founder Tanya Faison talked about the number of people killed by law enforcement nationwide in 2022. It’s a number that Mapping Police Violence says is at least 1,193 - the highest it has been since the non-profit started tracking these fatal incidents in 2013. More than one in 10 of those last year happened in California, including Stingley’s death.
“We're experiencing a lot of death by law enforcement that's going unchecked and unnoticed and nobody's talking about it,” Faison said.
Stingley family friend Zakiyah Brazil - known as Miss Kiwi – oversees an after-school program for kids in Del Paso Heights, which is how she came to know Sherrano Stingley, whose young son “SJ” – now 9 - was in her program.
“It's very hard. You want your babies not to live in fear. You know, you want them to wake up happy and strong, and you want them to succeed in life,” Brazil said. “But then you have these moments where you know-- I had SJ tell me he has to look over his shoulder.”
On Sunday night, the group marched east along Florin Road, calling for justice for Sherrano Stingley.
“I just hate that he's no longer here and how his life ended like that,” Brazil said.
“We're trying to lift his name today and make sure that the community here knows that we are going to continue to fight and remind people that he was killed, and he was not armed. And it was not justified, and he should still be here with us today,” Faison said.
They say they want the deputies involved in Stingley’s arrest held accountable for his death. They are also calling for the release of more body camera videos.
The march closed down the intersection of Florin Road and Franklin Boulevard for a short time, around 8 p.m. Sunday. The demonstration ended without incident—and family members say they’ll continue pushing for answers.
Stingley's family is raising money for a memorial service and independent autopsy. That site is HERE.
