ELK GROVE, Calif. — A former Elk Grove police officer is facing up to 4 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of stomping on a shoplifting suspect's head in 2019, the district attorney's office announced Monday.
The use-of-force incident involving former officer Bryan Schmidt was caught on camera back in June of 2019. Police had responded to calls at a Burlington Coat Factory where two men allegedly stole merchandise and assaulted security guards.
Officers arrived to the store as the suspects were leaving and ordered them to ground.
In a news release, the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office said Schmidt arrived once one of the suspects, identified as 23-year-old Juan Mendoza, was on the ground. According to the district attorney's office, Schmidt had his gun drawn, walked toward the suspect and told him that if he didn’t put his arms out it was "going to be a bad day” for him.
The DA's office said Schmidt stomped on the suspect's head after the suspect didn't put his arms out "like an airplane" when officers told him to do so, knocking him unconscious.
The Elk Grove Police Department confirmed at the time that neither the officer nor his supervisor reported the kick.
The district attorney's office said the shoplifting suspect developed subdural hematomas, or brain bleeds, that required brain surgeries.
The department first became aware of the incident in Oct. 2019 after an attorney representing Mendoza submitted a claim for damages, Elk Grove Police Chief Timothy Albright told ABC10 in March 2020. Albright said that neither Schmidt nor his supervising officer reported the incident as use-of-force, so it was not initially investigated as such.
“Law enforcement officers do an outstanding job every day to keep our community safe,” said DA Anne Marie Schubert. “Unfortunately, this was a rare instance in which an officer violated the public’s trust and needlessly used excessive force causing serious injuries to an individual. We want to thank the jurors for their commitment and dedication to seeing a just result.”
Schmidt is expected to be sentenced on April 8.
"Our officers do an outstanding job every day to keep our community safe. His actions that day do not represent the women and men who selflessly serve this city daily with professionalism," the Elk Grove Police Department told ABC10 in a statement.
The conviction of a law enforcement officer is rare under DA Schubert. While Schubert has charged peace officers before this appears to be the first conviction for use of force.
ABC10 reached out to Schmidt's attorney for comment and is waiting for a response.
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