Sacramento County pays $217,000 settlement to man kicked by deputy. Deputy keeps job

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento County this year paid a $217,000 settlement to a man who was kicked four times by a deputy during the arrest. The deputy is still on the force.

On March 10, 2020, deputies pulled over Brandell Sampson, who is Black, mistaking him for a man who had a warrant for a probation violation, according to a Sheriff’s Office disciplinary document. Deputies directed Sampson out of the car, he exited, and placed his hands on the top of his head, a video of the incident taken by Sampson’s sister showed.

While Sampson stood with his hands on his head, with his back to the deputies, Deputy Spencer Wright kicked Sampson in the lower back, launching him forward, the video shows and the document confirms. Once Sampson was on the ground, Wright hit him on the head three times with the handle of his Taser, according to the document.

Wright told investigators he hit him in the head because he feared Sampson was reaching for a weapon, which he was not, the document stated.

The settlement, which The Sacramento Bee learned of from a California Public Records Act request, was signed in February.

Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Amar Gandhi did not respond to an email seeking comment for this story.

Deputy still on force

Chief Deputy Chet Madison completed a review of the incident, finding that Wright violated policy when he hit Sampson in the head and tased him.

“... (With) all felony vehicle stops there are no absolutes, as many variables may be present and the scene subjects, vehicles and conditions are often fluid,” Madison wrote in a July 2020 document. “Nonetheless Deputy Wright’s actions were captured on video and negatively portrayed the Sacramento Sheriff’s Office. His actions created a lack of public trust from our community. Furthermore, his actions were outside of the scope of his training and a violation of policy.”

Madison recommended Sampson be given an 80-hour unpaid suspension, and also lose the ability to train other deputies. Then-Sheriff Scott Jones in August 2020 signed off on that discipline.

Sampson, as well as Sgt. Tim Mullin, also named in the lawsuit, are both still employees of the Sheriff’s Office, according to a document The Bee received from a separate PRA request.

Sheriff’s Office released records after Bee questions

Senate Bill 1421 requires law enforcement agencies to release disciplinary records when deputies use force to cause so-called great bodily injury, among other reasons.

In March 2020, shortly after the video of the incident was making the rounds online, the Sheriff’s Office told ABC10 the incident was not covered by SB 1421, so it would not tell the public how Wright was disciplined or if he was still on the force.

In October 2023, The Bee for an investigation sent The Sheriff’s Office questions asking why it had not posted internal affairs disciplinary records for dozens of use of force incidents since 2020. Following the Bee’s questions, the Sheriff’s Office posted the records for several incidents, including the Sampson incident, on its public web page.

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