A Rancho Cordova cop was filmed punching a 14-year-old boy. Report lays out his defense

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A Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy — filmed in a viral 2020 video after he repeatedly punched a 14-year-old boy in Rancho Cordova — “tarnished the legacy” of his law enforcement agency after using a forbidden technique, according to the Sheriff’s Office administrative disciplinary review of the incident.

Deputy Brian Fowell’s use of force was not justified because the boy, Elijah Tufono, did not pose a threat or carry weapons, the report said. Tufono, who is now an adult, could not be reached.

Fowell was ultimately fired in 2020, a decision recommended by then-Sheriff Scott Jones. Fowell was reinstated in April 2022 after appealing the decision.

Capt. Kate Adams, who formerly led the Rancho Cordova Police Department that operates under the Sheriff’s Office, sought a 240-hour suspension without pay for Fowell, as well as a transfer to correctional services for two years. But a Sheriff’s Office investigator thought Adams’ recommendation was “substantially too lenient” and recommended his termination, according to the administrative disciplinary review.

“The detrimental effects of Deputy Fowell’s actions have noticeably tarnished the legacy of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office,” the report said.

The documents’ disclosure was previously denied when The Sacramento Bee filed a public records request in 2020. A Bee journalist reviewed the report after it was included in a defense motion filed by attorneys in the trial of Anton Paris. He was convicted Tuesday of murdering Deputy Mark Stasyuk and the attempted murder of his partner, Julie Robertson.

Defense attorneys sought to cast doubt on Fowell’s testimony after he was scheduled to testify in the trial. Paris fired at him during the incident and the deputy returned gunfire, striking Paris in the back, according to the documents.

The report was also quietly released online by the Sheriff’s Office, which is mandated to release use-of-force investigations by California Senate Bill 1421.

But Fowell’s action had implications beyond the immediate community he serves — Adams declared Fowell “single-handedly undid years of goodwill and trust within not only the city of Rancho Cordova, but negatively impacted the profession of law enforcement,” according to her review of the incident.

The video, filmed by a bystander, proliferated nationwide through social media and gained more than 9 million views. Fowell’s actions were called a “horrific abuse of power” on social media by then-vice presidential nominee and California Sen. Kamala Harris, who is now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

Tufono, then 14 years old, reached a settlement in November 2021 with the city of Rancho Cordova for $125,000, according to court documents. The family’s attorney was scheduled to be paid $50,000, the documents indicated.

His guardian, Leataie Tagalu, did not respond to requests for comments. Attorney John Burris also did not return requests for comment.

The internal investigation

In April 2020, Tufono, who is Black, and a friend received tobacco from a man named Mark Sims near the intersection of Mather Field and Mills Station roads.

Fowell said he drove past the boys at least two times. That account doesn’t align with the deputy claiming “everything happened so fast” so he didn’t get a chance to call dispatchers, according to Chief Deputy Chet Madison, who wrote the administrative disciplinary review, which is conducted to investigate use of force incidents.

If Fowell had announced his actions to dispatchers, “this entire event could have been mitigated with the assistance of another officer,” the review says.

Fowell also didn’t follow standard law enforcement practices when he focused on Tufono and his friend who received the tobacco, rather than targeting Sims, the person who bought it, or the business, the report says. In a statement released by the Sheriff’s Office at the time of the incident, deputies said there was “reasonable suspicion” of “criminal activity” and Tufono resisted Fowell.

“Tufono’s possession of tobacco products is not a citable offense,” the report said.

The initial interaction between Fowell and Tufono was not consensual as Fowell claimed, the report said. He had turned on his rear emergency light, which is “inappropriate” when performing a consensual contact.

Tufono lied to Fowell about his name and age, the report said. Both of them ended up on the ground, and Fowell mounted Tufono, the report said.

In the video, Fowell pushed Tufono’s head into the ground as he tried to turn the teen onto his stomach. When the 14-year-old didn’t turn over and instead moved onto his back, Fowell struck Tufono three times. The deputy grabbed Tufono’s wrist and slammed his face on the ground while pinning his arm behind his back.

The punches did not seek to injure the boy, but to “distract him from further resistance” Fowell said, according to the report.

“I expected them to distract him enough and also let him that, you know, I was capable of — of doing that and not just control holds,” Fowell told the investigator.

He also said the first punch was a “grazing strike” that “did not work.” The other two punches were “instantaneous” and at “40% strength — just to distract, you know, and keep his mind working, too, rather than just trying to pull away from a grasp but also to try and block strikes,” Fowell said, according to the report.

Fowell said he was trained in the police academy to use distractionary blows. He also couldn’t remember the last time that he used distractionary blows, the report says.

Investigators also spoke with Fowell’s instructors at the academy who both “adamantly stated” distractionary blows and punches were not approved or taught.

Fowell made $292,936.53 in total pay in 2022, according to payroll records maintained by Transparent California. In 2023, the deputy made $184,105.

“While race may not have been a motivating factor in Deputy Fowell’s initial contact with Tufono ... it resulted in discord, distrust and anger in the Black community,” the report said. “Additionally, the community as a whole was outraged at the use of force utilized on a 14-year-old, half the size of Deputy Fowell.”