SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — Transparency in law enforcement: that’s the goal of a state law that requires agencies to release officers’ body camera video in serious cases — under certain circumstances.
Which cases trigger the law, however, could be up for interpretation.
That’s what ABC10 is following in the case of 48-year-old Sherrano Stingley. He died in the hospital 10 days after an arrest by Sacramento County Sheriff's Office deputies last month rendered him unconscious. He never woke up.
Stingley’s family is demanding all of the body camera video, saying state law requires the Sheriff’s Office to release it. The Sheriff’s Office says they don’t think that law applies in this case.
In the early morning of Dec. 6, Sheriff’s deputies were responding to a report of a man under someone's truck in the driveway of a home in the 7500 block of Whisperwillow Drive, just a few blocks from Stockton Boulevard and Gerber Drive.
Stingley's family says their loved one was in the middle of a mental health crisis and was searching for the home of his daughter Dymin Stingley, who lives nearby in that same neighborhood.
"This has been a hard time, still, for me. I cry every day,” said Dymin Stingley. “I torture myself and watch the video because I just want to understand why they didn't give my father that chance to come home to me."
Two days after the arrest, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office released video of one deputy’s body camera, showing Stingley initially complying with deputies but then a struggle ensuing. By the fourth minute of that struggle, Stingley appears unconscious.
"There is body camera footage available from different angles, which will show they beat him repeatedly upon the head, that they struck him with a flashlight, that they smashed his head on the concrete,” said attorney Mark Merin, who is representing Stingley’s family.
They’re calling for the Sheriff’s Office to release body camera video from all of the deputies on scene that early morning of Dec. 6.
In fact, they say a state law — Assembly Bill 748 — requires the release of that video.
Passed in 2018, AB 748 says law enforcement agencies may only withhold body camera video for 45 days, barring certain conditions, in something called a “critical incident,” which is a key phrase.
AB 748 says a critical incident is when an officer shoots at someone or uses force that seriously injures, or kills, someone.
However, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office says AB 748 doesn’t apply here.
“Right now, the District Attorney’s Office is still reviewing the case, so we won’t have much to say until that investigation is complete,” said spokesperson Sgt. Amar Gandhi.
They’re calling Stingley’s case an “in-custody death” and claim it doesn’t qualify as a critical incident.
The California Department of Justice says from 2010 to 2019, "roughly one-fifth of deaths occurred during the process of arrest."
Katz has handled police misconduct cases for the better part of three decades. ABC10 asked him to give his opinion on this case.
“It’s clearly a critical incident; it's an in-custody death,” said retired attorney Stewart Katz, who is not affiliated with Stingley’s case.
He said he believes what is shown in the one video released of the incident does depict a critical incident, in which use of force lead to Stingley passing out and eventually dying.
But the Sheriff’s Office says they have no plans to release more video any time soon, if at all.
“I think it's a conscious decision to try to get away with not being transparent,” said Katz.
“Let’s get those body camera videos out right now, so the public can actually judge the performance of these deputies,” said Merin.
"I honestly knew that they was not going to release nothing because they knew they messed up,” said Dymin Stingley.
Merin said he has filed a claim against Sacramento County, asking for compensation. The county has until the first week of February to reply. If they reject the claim, Merin said, he’s taking this to court and will sue the county for violating Stingley’s civil rights.
Q: If the Sheriff’s Office says the law doesn’t apply here - that they’re not required to release body camera video - then how do we have the one body camera video that was released in the days after the incident?
A: Between Stingley’s death and now, there has been a leadership change at the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.
The body camera video was released under then-Sheriff Scott Jones. Now, Jim Cooper – elected back in November – has been sworn in. A spokesperson tells ABC10 they can’t speak to the decisions made by the previous administration, as to why they chose to release body camera video.
Q: The Sheriff’s Office says they’ll wait until the District Attorney’s Office has finished its investigation before deciding whether to release any additional body camera video. What does the DA have to say about that?
A: ABC10 reached out to the District Attorney’s Office, which replied with the following statement.
“We have not received any investigative reports/materials from the Sacramento Sheriff’s Office relating to this in-custody death. After we have received all of the materials related to this incident, we will conduct a complete review. Any questions concerning the evidence in this case, including body worn camera footage, should be directed to the Sacramento Sheriff’s Office,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Rod Norgaard.
That sends the question back to the Sheriff’s Office, which – again – tells ABC10 they’re not classifying Stingley’s arrest and subsequent death as a “critical incident” and so the law requiring them to release body camera video does not apply.
Stingley's family is raising money for a memorial service and independent autopsy. That site is HERE.
WATCH MORE: Sherrano Stingley's death: Sacramento Sheriff plan on not releasing more body cam | To The Point
