Cops tackled 11-year-old boy at the California State Fair. Now, Elk Grove mom is suing
The mother of a Black youth allegedly chased and tackled by California State Fair police in the waning hours of the fair’s Kids Day in July has filed a federal lawsuit against the fair and its police department.
Cynthia Martin, through Sacramento attorney Mark Merin, is asking for more than $1 million in damages; an amount, the suit states, “sufficient to deter and make an example” of State Fair officials and police.
Martin of Elk Grove alleges in the 18-page lawsuit filed Tuesday in Sacramento federal court that State Fair police officers used excessive force and falsely arrested her son at the state fairgrounds in July. The suit also alleges officers forcibly brought down the 11-year-old and later detained and questioned the child for 30 minutes without Martin present.
California State Fair officials on Thursday said they received the lawsuit and that the matter has been referred to the state Attorney General’s Office.
Martin said State Fair police barred her from seeing her son as he was detained and coerced into signing a “trespass admonishment” that he did not understand. By signing the admonishment, the boy agreed not to return to the fair.
Martin also accuses the California State Fair and its officers of assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress in the filing.
Martin and her son stood with Sacramento NAACP leaders and local advocates in August outside the state fairgrounds to describe the moments that led to him being tackled and detained. The August allegations, repeated in the new suit filed Tuesday, revived criticism of how young Black and brown fairgoers are treated by State Fair police.
“He’s 11 years old. He’s a child. What makes him different from any other 11-year-old? He’s Black,” Sacramento NAACP president Betty Williams said at the August news conference. “You are treated differently and he should never have been treated this way.”
Martin’s son was followed by officers after he was “horseplaying” with his non-Black friends at the fair’s rollercoaster and kicked off the ride, Martin said in August. Martin’s son was frightened when he saw the officers and ran from the group, she said in August and restated in the suit. Martin said officers chased down the youth and tackled him to the asphalt, but the boy freed himself from the first tackle and ran for the fair’s gate where Martin was waiting.
Martin’s suit alleges officers again tackled the boy to the ground and then pushed him into a gate as fairgoers looked on.
The suit alleges Martin’s son was scraped and bruised when he was tackled by officers and took a deep cut to the forearm when he was shoved into the gate. The boy was “terrified” as officers allegedly pinned and choked him, before taking him to a security trailer where he was questioned for a half-hour, the suit read.
“He’s just a child. They brought him down by choking him. They manhandled him and used force, so immediately there’s false arrest,” Merin told reporters at Cal Expo in August. “They obviously used excessive force. Then they took him out of the view of his mother which violates her due process. This puts Cal Expo on notice that this is a big issue.”
Cal Expo is the only fairground in the state with a full-time, year-round police force. More than 100 officers are on the payroll, say fair officials. Officials touted the manpower and new safety measures in place ahead of the summer event, which opened for the first time since 2019 due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“The State Fair is the safest square-mile in Sacramento County this July. We’re a vital part of the community,” State Fair CEO Rick Pickering said in the run-up to the fair. “It far exceeds anywhere (families) could send their children. Having our entire police force here, the precautions in place that the state fair does — they’ll walk through metal detectors; there’s 200-plus surveillance cameras.”
State Fair officials said the youth was unattended, and that he demonstrated “dangerous behavior” including climbing over a safety fence and nearly being struck by the roller coaster.
The officials said vendors accused the child of trying to steal items; and that officers bandaged what was described as a small cut before releasing the boy back to his mother.
“The officers followed all proper policies to quell the situation and keep the minor safe,” State Fair officials said in August responding to Martin’s claims.
Martin and attorney Merin say fair officials knew the account was false when they released the statement and say they believe fair officials have video recordings showing officers using excessive force in detaining the boy.
This story was originally published October 20, 2022 at 12:15 PM.
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