Elk Grove officer fired, another quits following use of force incident caught on video

One Elk Grove police officer was fired and another resigned after an investigation into a use of force incident last year concluded the officer and his supervisor violated policy when one kicked a suspect and his sergeant failed to report it, the department announced Thursday.

The firing stemmed from a June 5, 2019, incident in which a worker called 911 after two men attempted to steal items from a Burlington department store and then attacked a loss prevention officer.

Officers responded to the scene in the 9100 block of East Stockton Boulevard at 8:43 p.m. and video of the incident shows one officer — identified as Officer Bryan Schmidt — appearing to kick a suspect while he was on the ground and not complying with another officer’s order to show his hands while on the ground.

A video release that accompanied the announcement contained more than 10 minutes of body-worn camera and dash-cam footage from multiple officers. While the video is edited, it contains very few redactions.

“When we have a critical incident within our community, we want to share as much information with the community as much as possible, said Chief Timothy Albright in the video. “The trust from our community is critical to our success and that trust is built through transparency.”

Video from Officer Schmidt’s body-worn camera shows him walking toward Mendoza with his gun drawn. He tells Mendoza to move his hands out from his side twice, adding “Hey, this ain’t going to be a good day for you. Hands out right now, son.” Mendoza keeps his arms pinned to his sides while lying face down.

Schmidt then kicks Mendoza in the head with his left leg and repeats the command, using his feet to push Mendoza’s arms away from his body. He is then handcuffed by two officers.

A conversation between Schmidt and another officer is also captured on Schmidt’s body-worn camera a few minutes later in which Schmidt recounts the incident. He tells the other officer “I’m like ‘Hey, show me your hands, show me your hands, it’s going to be a bad day for you. He was just kind of like smiling, doing that smirk, so I wham and I f------ kick him in his head. And I tell him to put his hands out and then start kicking his hands away from his sides, finally got his hands out.”

Schmidt later mutes his camera microphone for 13 seconds as he continues to talk to other officers at the scene.

Mendoza appears in the video later seated in the back of Officer Schmidt’s patrol car. Blood is visible on his lower lip and near his chin. He vomited after the arrest and spoke with slurred speech, the department said in the video. Mendoza was booked into jail on suspicion of robbery, conspiracy, resisting arrest and violation of probation. He was one of two men detained by police in the incident.

Mendoza was later taken to a hospital and treated for a head injury, the department said in its video release.

Since his arrest, he has been held at the Sacramento County Main Jail and is ineligible for bail.

The department was made aware of the use of force incident when Mendoza’s attorney filed a claim for damages, the department said in a news release.

“An internal investigation was immediately launched,” according to the release. “The officer involved was placed on leave and his law enforcement authority was suspended.”

The investigation found that the officer’s supervisor “failed to identify the use of force, failed to report the use of force, and failed to complete an internal review in accordance with policy,” the department said. The officer’s sergeant is not identified in the release.

“This failure not only did not allow for a thorough review of the force but exposed the city to unnecessary liability,” Albright said in the video. “It is a fact of this job that the use of force is at time necessary to protect the lives of the public and our officers. We do not take the use of force lightly and when questions arise we must investigate and take the appropriate action when appropriate.”

The sergeant resigned following the investigation, said Officer Jason Jimenez, spokesman for the department.

The use of force incident was determined to have violated department policy and “not in line” with training provided by the Elk Grove Police Department.

As a result, Schmidt was terminated, the release said. He is now appealing his termination, Jimenez said.

“The actions that night were not congruent with our organization’s mission, vision and values,” Albright said. “The actions by those involved do not represent the 260 committed women and men of this organization who are dedicated to serving with empathy, integrity, and professionalism.”

This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 3:06 PM.