Fired Elk Grove officer convicted in Sacramento court after kicking shoplifting suspect

An Elk Grove police officer who was fired two years ago after video footage showed him kicking a suspect and bragging about it was convicted Monday of battery and assault by a police officer, Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert’s office said.

Bryan Wayne Schmidt, 46, whose March 2020 firing stemmed from an incident that led to the resignation of another officer, was ordered taken into custody and to be held without bail pending sentencing, Schubert’s office said.

He faces up to four years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced April 8.

“Law enforcement officers do an outstanding job every day to keep our community safe,” Schubert said after the verdict. “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.”

The case began with a 911 call on June 5, 2019, from a worker at a Burlington department store on Stockton Boulevard reporting that two men were trying to steal items and had attacked a loss prevention officer.

Body-camera video footage released by Elk Grove police the day his firing was announced showed Schmidt appearing to kick a suspect who was on the ground and not complying with another officer’s order that he show his hands.

Later, Schmidt’s camera recorded him talking to another officer about the incident.

“I’m like ‘Hey, show me your hands, show me your hands, it’s going to be a bad day for you,’” Schmidt told the officer. “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 muted his microphone for 13 seconds as he talked to other officers at the scene.

While the case was pending, then-Elk Grove Police Chief Tim Albright sought and received a temporary restraining order for himself and internal affairs investigators against Schmidt, citing “erratic behavior” and “a desire to retaliate against them for their perceived wrongdoing,” court documents state.

“Respondent stated in an email to the City Council that ‘(EGPD Police Chief) Albright destroyed my life” a petition for the restraining order states. “I lived in my car for a month. ... I can’t see my girls regularly. ... Why? all because Tim Albright wanted to hang a cop. ... Albright saw this as a political move to have me fire, arrested and ultimately homeless.”

The petition also states that Schmidt approached an Elk Grove police employee at a restaurant and “repeatedly stated that ‘Chief Albright ruined his life and that he was going to beat him down,’” the petition states.

“As respondent’s criminal trial intensifies and nears an end, which could result in a felony conviction and the incarceration of respondent, his behavior demonstrates that he is becoming increasingly desperate, unpredictable, and dangerous,” the petition added.

The temporary restraining order was granted and court filings say Schmidt subsequently provided proof that he had sold or turned over firearms he possessed, as required by restraining orders.

This story was originally published March 14, 2022 at 1:23 PM.