Elk Grove tragedy a reminder communities can seek police reforms and mourn fallen officers

The tragic death of 44-year-old Elk Grove police officer Tyler “Ty” Lenehan has been felt widely throughout the Sacramento region and the state. As members of California law enforcement mourn a colleague, we are all reminded of the daily dangers facing those dedicated to public safety. In the 21 years since Elk Grove became an incorporated city, Lenehan was its first officer to die in the line of duty.

Lenehan was killed on Jan. 21, on southbound Highway 99, after a suspected drunk driver allegedly driving in the wrong direction near 47th Avenue crashed into Lenehan’s motorcycle as the officer drove to work. Jermaine Jeryan Walton was arrested after the crash. Prosecutors are charging him with murder because of a previous drunk driving conviction.

Car accidents are the second-leading cause of death for California police officers, according to a nonprofit that tracks line-of-duty deaths. Gunfire is the No. 1 cause.

Colleagues of Lenehan said the motor unit was a “dream job” for the six-year department veteran, who got the assignment in 2020. He’s survived by his wife, Jessica, and their two children. Understandably, the department is experiencing a profound sense of grief.

“Our hearts are broken,” Elk Grove Police Chief Timothy Albright told reporters after the accident.

The Elk Grove community has also been devastated. Councilwoman Stephanie Nguyen’s husband is a 14-year veteran in the department and served six years in the tight-knit motor unit. Lenehan’s death was a nightmare realized for many families.

“This is what I feared for my husband,” Nguyen told The Bee. “Motor officers are a very close group, so this is hitting them very hard. You can only imagine what they’re going through, but it hits close to us all. It could have been any one of them.”

The tragic loss of a sworn peace officer is becoming all too familiar in the Sacramento region. In August, Galt Police Officer Harminder Grewal was also killed after a head-on crash on Highway 99 as he and his partner, Kapri Herrera, were on his way to work at the Caldor Fire in El Dorado County. Herrera was hospitalized for weeks.

Grewal, who was Sikh, was highly regarded for his work ethic and dry sense of humor. He had dreams of one day joining the FBI.

Their deaths underscored the inherent dangers of driving in the Sacramento region. A 2019 analysis by The Bee found that Sacramento had the most annual alcohol-related crashes of any major city four different times over an eight-year span. In 2016, the city of Sacramento had the most traffic injuries and deaths per capita in California, prompting the City Council to adopt a “vision zero” plan to utilize data and different strategies to improve overall street safety.

Sacramento County has the sixth-most fatal or injury crashes per year in California, according to state figures. Except for 2020, when fewer people were driving due to widespread office closures, Sacramento County has increasingly experienced more violent collisions in each of the last 10 years.

It’s clear that regional and state leaders need to enact additional measures to make our streets and highways safer.

The tragic deaths of Lenehan and Grewal also came as California communities continue asking for more transparency and greater accountability from law enforcement. These conversations are necessary and sometimes get heated because far too often they are ignored. But the people sworn to protect us have families, and these tragedies are an unfortunate but important reminder that their work is dangerous and sometimes they don’t come home.

Sometimes, communities must have hard conversations with law enforcement leaders on one day while paying respects and mourning the loss of dedicated peace officers on another. It’s part of being a community. After a tragedy — whether it’s a citizen unjustly killed or an officer who died in the line of duty — comes another chance to heal and do better.