San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore has stirred up courtroom controversy after he suspended — and then fired — a deputy who put a handcuffed inmate in a chokehold, according to a legal complaint.
On Aug. 2, Deputy Sam Knight was walking a handcuffed inmate to the George Bailey detention facility’s recreation area when the inmate mouthed off to him.
Knight took the inmate to the ground with a neck restraint and "used his hand to twice make contact with [the inmate's] face," the complaint says.
Eleven days after the chokehold incident, the sheriff put Knight on administrative leave without pay because Gore says there was no justification for the force and Knight never reported the encounter to a supervisor, which is required anytime force is used. Additionally, the maneuver is not a department-approved tactic. Knight learned it in a martial arts class.
Also helping Gore’s case is the fact that it was captured on video, which has not been released to the media.
Attorney Marc Carlos, who is not involved in the case, questions the video’s role in the ordeal.
“What happens if there wasn’t a video? If there wasn’t a video, would there even be an issue with the sheriff?” Carlos asked.
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The chokehold Knight used was similar to the one New York police officer Daniel Pantaleo applied to Eric Garner before he died — an incident that drew national attention when a grand jury decided not to indict Pantaleo.
“There’s a public outcry, there’s a public distrust with law enforcement regarding chokeholds and use of restraint,” said Carlos. “It’s something in the news, something clearly at the forefront of everybody’s mind.”
In this case, however Gore says his deputy was at fault.
But despite the video evidence, the San Diego County Civil Service Commission, which reviews public employee discipline cases, disagreed with Gore, citing insufficient evidence.
According to its report, the inmate threatened deputies that he was going to be a nightmare and was a "pitbull who hadn't eaten in three days." Shortly after the incident, the inmate called a family member and bragged about provoking a deputy, saying he was going to be a millionaire, the report says.
The commission’s ruling on the incident said Knight should be reinstated and given back pay.
Gore is fighting the decision with a lawsuit filed in October in Superior Court against the commission. The suit says the deputy cannot be trusted to do his job and taxpayers should not pay him to sit at home.
The sheriff did not wait for a ruling, either. A department spokesperson confirmed Gore fired Knight last week.
The sheriff’s department went so far as to refer a criminal complaint against Knight to the District Attorney’s office. The DA recently declined to file charges.
