No mugshot? Sacramento County sheriff explains why cartoonist’s booking photo was not posted

Sacramento County sheriff’s officials in a series of social media exchanges Thursday said state law precluded the office from posting booking photos of arrested Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Darrin Bell.

The Sheriff’s Office announced Bell’s arrest on its social media channels Thursday morning absent his jail photo, prompting numerous questions on the agency’s Facebook page.

Responders online referred to Sheriff’s Office’s posting of a booking photo the previous day of a Sacramento-area church volunteer accused of underage sexual assault.

One commenter’s reply was typical: “Stop picking and choosing criminals you want to show pictures of,” Wood wrote.

Bell has not been convicted of a crime. Friday’s appearance in Sacramento Superior Court will be his first since his arrest.

California law allows law enforcement agencies to only post photos of people charged with violent offenses. The Sheriff’s Office said Bell — arrested Wednesday by detectives on suspicion of possessing child pornography created by artificial intelligence — does not fall under that criteria.

The reason, officials said: Assembly Bill 994, the law governing the release of booking photos.

Sheriff’s officials referred people to the statute, which says law enforcement agencies can only post photos of people alleged to have committed non-violent offenses in special circumstances.

Otherwise, “a police department or sheriff’s office shall not share, on social media, booking photos of an individual arrested on suspicion of committing a nonviolent crime,” the bill’s language reads.

The following circumstances must exist:

▪ The law enforcement agency must determine that the suspect is a fugitive or an imminent threat to an individual or to public safety.

▪ A judge orders the suspect’s image released or disseminated after determining that the image’s release furthers a legitimate law enforcement interest.

▪ There is an urgent law enforcement interest in releasing the suspect’s image.

Bell remains in Sacramento County Main Jail custody in lieu of $1 million bail ahead of his arraignment.

Darrell Smith

The Sacramento Bee

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Darrell Smith is a local reporter for The Sacramento Bee. He joined The Bee in 2006 and previously worked at newspapers in Palm Springs, Colorado Springs and Marysville. Smith was born and raised at Beale Air Force Base and lives in Elk Grove.