Newly released jail video is raising fresh questions about use of force inside the Sacramento County Main Jail, showing a February 2023 struggle where a man repeatedly screams that his arm has been broken while deputies hold him down.<\/p>\n
The man, identified in deputies\u2019 reports as Timothy Adger, is heard yelling in pain during a Feb. 18, 2023 intake as deputies restrain him. The clips, which include both body-worn and facility camera footage, were posted this week as part of a transparency release required under state law.<\/p>\n
How the sheriff released the footage<\/p>\n
The Sacramento County Sheriff\u2019s Office<\/a> posted the videos and reports under California Senate Bill 16 on its online “Released Cases” transparency portal. The listing links to a release packet that includes multiple video clips from different angles along with incident paperwork the agency chose to make public.<\/p>\n What the videos show<\/p>\n According to The Sacramento Bee<\/a>, the footage shows deputies placing a spit mask over Adger\u2019s head, then grabbing his arms and applying what they describe as a control hold inside a narrow, walled area known as a “patbox.” In the recordings, Adger can be heard shouting, “He broke my arm. Help,” as deputies escort and photograph him before moving him into a sobering cell.<\/p>\n Deputies\u2019 accounts<\/p>\n Records posted on the sheriff\u2019s transparency portal identify the custodial deputies involved as Spenser Heichlinger and Trenton Howze. In his written narrative, Howze says he moved to “pin (Adger) to the left wall of the patbox” in an effort to gain control of Adger\u2019s arms, adding that he feared Adger might strike him.<\/p>\n Heichlinger, in the same packet, characterizes the maneuver as an “unintentional dual-control hold,” according to the release from the Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n Medical response and custody status<\/p>\n In another portion of the clips, a jail nurse is heard telling deputies, “we have to have him x-rayed if that\u2019s the problem,” referring to Adger\u2019s complaints about his arm. The video then shows deputies lifting Adger into a van for transport to a nearby hospital for evaluation.<\/p>\n Court and jail records reviewed by The Sacramento Bee<\/a> indicate that Adger later pleaded out to the 2023 charges tied to his intake and is currently being held in lieu of $1,000,000 bail in a separate case.<\/p>\n Oversight and accountability<\/p>\n The Sheriff\u2019s Office release does not include any findings from its internal investigation into the encounter. On its public site, The Sacramento County District Attorney\u2019s Office<\/a> states that it independently reviews officer-involved shootings and other serious uses of force to determine whether criminal charges are warranted.<\/p>\n