kcchiefs6465
12-11-2014, 04:28 PM
SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. (KCRA) —A Sacramento County sheriff's deputy has been placed on paid administrative leave after a video surfaced showing him using his foot to force a man's head against the ground and a flashlight to strike the man.
A video showing a Sacramento County sheriff's deputy striking a man in the street has caused the sheriff's department to place the deputy on paid administrative leave as it investigates the circumstances.
Watch report: Sacramento County deputy on leave after video shows beating
Sacramento County Undersheriff Jaime Lewis said his department began looking into the incident Tuesday after KCRA 3 obtained and sent the video to the agency.
Lewis said a man also sent the department a piece of video Tuesday.
"There are portions of that video that clearly have caused me concern," Lewis said. "And that is exactly what has caused the department to initiate an investigation, so we can get to the bottom of it."
The man being detained in the video is Carmichael resident John Madison Reyes, 51.
The video shows the deputy standing over Reyes, who is lying on his side on the ground, at the intersection of Fair Oaks Boulevard and Landis Avenue in Carmichael.
Then, the deputy forces Reyes' head to the ground with his foot and repeatedly strikes him with a flashlight.
The officer can be heard ordering Reyes to lie on his stomach, as Reyes yells back, "I'm trying to" and "I'll turn over if you let me up."
Lewis said Wednesday that the video reveals just one portion of a lengthier incident.
Before the camera started rolling, Reyes was resisting arrest, Lewis said.
According to Lewis, the officer used a stun gun and pepper spray multiple times to try and gain control of Reyes before the video recording began.
"Let's face it, had the subject complied with the officer's directives from the initial contact and beyond, we wouldn't be sitting here talking about this today," Lewis said.
Reyes now has a gash in his forehead and a black eye. He told KCRA 3 that he could not comply with the officer's commands to roll onto his stomach.
"How can I roll over when my body's twitching with 100,000 volts going through it," Reyes said.
Reyes said he initially approached the deputy Tuesday to tell him that his patrol vehicle was blocking part of the intersection.
"I asked him kindly to move the car," Reyes said. "He glared at me and stared at me. And then, I said an expletive, 'You need to move the car because I can't get through.'"
The confrontation escalated as the officer questioned Reyes about being on probation. Reyes has been arrested in the past for drug possession and carrying a concealed weapon.
What's not clear is whether Reyes had committed a crime Tuesday.
A sheriff's spokeswoman said Reyes was ultimately booked into jail and released -- cited only for resisting arrest.
Michael White shot the video and offered a different version of what happened with the stun gun before he began recording.
"The cop was walking around him, and he Tased him several times, and you could see the guy's body convulse about three or four times," White said. "And he's not yelling or anything. He was not trying to get away."
White said he's glad his video led to an investigation.
"I think [the officer] should get fired," White said. "I think he should go to jail. I don't think administrative leave is enough."
Video at link.
hxxp://www.kcra.com/news/sacramento-deputy-on-leave-after-video-shows-beating/30170954
A video showing a Sacramento County sheriff's deputy striking a man in the street has caused the sheriff's department to place the deputy on paid administrative leave as it investigates the circumstances.
Watch report: Sacramento County deputy on leave after video shows beating
Sacramento County Undersheriff Jaime Lewis said his department began looking into the incident Tuesday after KCRA 3 obtained and sent the video to the agency.
Lewis said a man also sent the department a piece of video Tuesday.
"There are portions of that video that clearly have caused me concern," Lewis said. "And that is exactly what has caused the department to initiate an investigation, so we can get to the bottom of it."
The man being detained in the video is Carmichael resident John Madison Reyes, 51.
The video shows the deputy standing over Reyes, who is lying on his side on the ground, at the intersection of Fair Oaks Boulevard and Landis Avenue in Carmichael.
Then, the deputy forces Reyes' head to the ground with his foot and repeatedly strikes him with a flashlight.
The officer can be heard ordering Reyes to lie on his stomach, as Reyes yells back, "I'm trying to" and "I'll turn over if you let me up."
Lewis said Wednesday that the video reveals just one portion of a lengthier incident.
Before the camera started rolling, Reyes was resisting arrest, Lewis said.
According to Lewis, the officer used a stun gun and pepper spray multiple times to try and gain control of Reyes before the video recording began.
"Let's face it, had the subject complied with the officer's directives from the initial contact and beyond, we wouldn't be sitting here talking about this today," Lewis said.
Reyes now has a gash in his forehead and a black eye. He told KCRA 3 that he could not comply with the officer's commands to roll onto his stomach.
"How can I roll over when my body's twitching with 100,000 volts going through it," Reyes said.
Reyes said he initially approached the deputy Tuesday to tell him that his patrol vehicle was blocking part of the intersection.
"I asked him kindly to move the car," Reyes said. "He glared at me and stared at me. And then, I said an expletive, 'You need to move the car because I can't get through.'"
The confrontation escalated as the officer questioned Reyes about being on probation. Reyes has been arrested in the past for drug possession and carrying a concealed weapon.
What's not clear is whether Reyes had committed a crime Tuesday.
A sheriff's spokeswoman said Reyes was ultimately booked into jail and released -- cited only for resisting arrest.
Michael White shot the video and offered a different version of what happened with the stun gun before he began recording.
"The cop was walking around him, and he Tased him several times, and you could see the guy's body convulse about three or four times," White said. "And he's not yelling or anything. He was not trying to get away."
White said he's glad his video led to an investigation.
"I think [the officer] should get fired," White said. "I think he should go to jail. I don't think administrative leave is enough."
Video at link.
hxxp://www.kcra.com/news/sacramento-deputy-on-leave-after-video-shows-beating/30170954