LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that, in accordance with new state law, it is making available to the public videos and investigative documents related to use of five force-related incidents that occurred between 2014 and 2018.
The California Public Records Act requires a state or local agency, such as the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, to make public records available for inspection, subject to certain exceptions.
Last year, the Legislature passed SB 1421, which then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed in September.
SB 1421 amends sections of the penal code relating to peace officer records.
Specifically, it requires disclosure of records involving officer-involved shootings or other use of force events, investigations into police misconduct such as lying under oath, complaints and other specified incidents under the auspices of the California Public Records Act.
In order to comply with SB 1421, Lt. Rich Ward said the Lake County Sheriff’s Office has developed a way to disseminate records for public inspection for qualifying cases.
Members of the public can find a list of documents, videos, photographs and other information by navigating to a “Use of Force” page on the Lake County Sheriff’s Web site.
If any additional incidents occur that qualify for public release per SB 1421, Ward said the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Use of Force page will be updated in order to make those records available for public inspection.
The records released on Wednesday cover five critical incidents, two of them involving fatal shootings.
Sheriff Brian Martin introduces each of the videos, with deputies offering additional information about the incidents.
They include the following, listed in chronological order.
Nov. 9, 2014: Christopher Keith O’Neal
Christopher Keith O’Neal, 57, was fatally shot just after 12 a.m. Nov. 9, 2014, in Lucerne.
O’Neal, a survivor of the 1978 Peoples Temple Jonestown massacre, was shot by two sheriff’s deputies who had responded to his home on the report of a domestic disturbance.
O’Neal emerged from his home into the front yard with a kitchen knife. He refused to follow deputies’ orders to drop the knife, he told them he was going to charge them and then did so.
The deputies shot 10 rounds at O’Neal, who was hit by seven them, according to his autopsy.
The incident occurred nine days before the 36th anniversary of the Jonestown massacre.
Then-District Attorney Don Anderson ruled Sienze’s shooting was justified.
Feb. 21, 2015: Adam David Young
Shortly after 9 p.m. on Feb. 21, 2015, deputies and California Highway Patrol officers responded to a report of a physical fight between two male subjects in Nice.
The deputies identified the males who were fighting, and one of the deputies found Young to be intoxicated to the point where he couldn’t care for himself, arrested him for public intoxication and handcuffed him.
The deputy placed Young in the front passenger seat of his patrol car because the back seat was outfitted for a K9.
As the deputy was driving Young to the Lake County Jail, Young became violent, hitting his head on the dash and spitting on the deputy, who managed to keep control of the car while also handling Young.
The deputy pulled into the parking lot at the Rodman Slough County Park and ordered Young out of the car. When he refused, the deputy pulled Young out of the vehicle. Young fell and lost consciousness.
At the deputy’s request, medical personnel responded and transported Young to the hospital for treatment.
March 1, 2017: Wesley David Thaxton
Wesley David Thaxton was knocked consciousness while being taken into custody by a sheriff’s deputy in Upper Lake on March 1, 2017.
Shortly after 9:30 p.m. a deputy responded to Upper Lake to a report of a male subject who had broken down a woman’s door and was refusing to leave. Thaxton was found drunk and passed out on a couch on a porch.
The deputy took Thaxton to the patrol car and contacted the reporting party, who declined to press charges. He returned to the car and Thaxton attempted run away.
The video, shot at night, does not clearly show what happened next. The deputy said in his written report that he chased Thaxton and took him down with a leg sweep. When Thaxton tried to get up, the deputy forced him down again with another leg sweep.
In the video, the deputy can be heard calling for medical assistance due to Thaxton having lost consciousness. The deputy told Northshore Fire paramedics that Thaxton hit his head “pretty hard.”
Thaxton regained consciousness shortly afterward and was transported to the hospital.
Feb. 15, 2018: Jason Richard Sienze
At 11:40 a.m. Feb. 15, 2018, Jason Richard Sienze was observed by witnesses in the area of Marin Street in Nice acting strangely and talking to himself. A 2003 Chrysler Sebring that has been linked to Sienze was located wrecked and abandoned in the area of Buckingham Way, authorities said.
Minutes later, Sienze was seen in the 3000 block of Highway 20 knocking on doors and asking for money, acting strangely and talking about going back to prison. Not long after that, he was seen driving a stolen pickup on Nice Road, where he pointed a handgun at a man and pulled the trigger, but the gun misfired.
Authorities said he forced entry into a residence, took keys and stole a 2006 Ford F-350 pickup. Deputies confronted him in the area of Lakeview Drive and Burpee Drive.
The 15-minute video shows deputies in the area trying to locate Sienze, finding him and shooting numerous times at him as he backed the pickup down Lakeview Drive. The deputy whose body cam video is shown is heard saying he can see a pistol in Sienze’s right hand.
Several deputies approached the vehicle and found him shot, with the vehicle still running. A deputy reaches inside and turns off the pickup, which had several bullet holes in the windshield. The deputy with the body cam video then calls for medics.
Sienze was declared dead at the scene a short time later.
An autopsy found that Sienze had been struck a total of seven times in the neck, chest, both arms and right thigh.
Then-District Attorney Don Anderson ruled Sienze’s shooting was justified.
Sept. 5, 2018: Carlos Anthony Gonzalez
On Sept. 5, 2018, Carlos Anthony Gonzalez, an inmate at the Lake County Jail, refused to comply with correctional officers’ orders to move from his cell to another.
Several correctional officers subsequently entered the cell to move him. Gonzalez reportedly fought them before they handcuffed him and moved him to the other cell.
When they placed him on the floor in the second cell he complained that his elbow hurt. A jail nurse checked him, he was taken to booking then transported without further incident to Sutter Lakeside Hospital, where he was evaluated for his injury.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Sheriff’s office releases ‘use of force’ records in compliance with SB 1421
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On