Theft suspect hospitalized after struggle with deputies in south Sacramento, sheriff says

An attempted burglary suspect was hospitalized after suffering a serious medical emergency while being detained by deputies Tuesday morning in south Sacramento, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said.

Body camera video released by the Sheriff’s Office on Thursday appears to show a deputy punching the suspect in the back of the head as she and two other deputies attempted to cuff him on the ground. The suspect became unresponsive shortly after being struck.

The suspect was identified by Black Lives Matter Sacramento as Sherrano Stingley, 48.

The incident began around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday when the sheriff’s dispatch center received a call of an attempted catalytic converter theft in the 7500 block of Whisperwillow Drive, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. The same caller then called again to report that someone was attempting to kick in their front door.

A arrived to find Stingley exiting the front patio of the caller’s home. The deputy, carrying his duty weapon in his hand, ordered Stingley to get on the ground, according to the news release.

Stingley complied, but as the deputy approached to place him in handcuffs, “the subject wrapped himself around the deputy’s legs and attempted to bring him to the ground,” sheriff’s officials wrote.

Two more deputies then arrived to attempt to detain the man, whom the Sheriff’s Office said “forcefully and actively resisted for approximately three to four minutes.”

The man was unresponsive by the time the deputies placed the man in handcuffs. The deputies “placed him in a recovery position and monitored his pulse” until Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District personnel arrived to transport Stingley to Kaiser Permanente’s South Sacramento Medical Center, according to the Sheriff’s Office and Black Lives Matter Sacramento.

Doctors at the hospital determined Stingley had “experienced a serious medical emergency while exerting himself during the fight,” sheriff’s officials wrote in the news release. They also determined that he had cocaine, meth and THC in his system.

“Physicians determined the suspect’s prognosis was grim,” sheriff’s officials wrote.

Black Lives Matter Sacramento said Stingley is on life support at the hospital, and that he was undergoing a mental health crisis at the time of Tuesday’s incident.

The Sheriff’s Office requested a compassionate release, which was granted by a judge Wednesday evening, allowing family to be with Stingley at the hospital.

The Sheriff’s Office said Stingley was arrested on multiple charges including attempted burglary, prowling, resisting executive officers and battery of a peace officer.

Video shows struggle on south Sacramento driveway

The Sheriff’s Office on Thursday released body camera footage from the incident. The footage shows Stingley briefly began to run away from the first deputy, but stopped moments later and put his hands up.

Seconds later, Stingley grabbed the first deputy’s flashlight before grasping his right leg with both arms, the video shows. Three deputies then took Stingley to the ground, with one deputy using her knee on his backside to pin him down.

About two minutes after the initial contact, one of the three deputies appeared to strike Stingley in the back of the head after he had freed his left arm from the deputies’ restraint.

He became unresponsive about a minute later, the video shows, as deputies finished cuffing him.

The deputies then lifted the man up to his knees, and one of them told him to “wake up,” but he did not respond, according to the video.

The video ends with one deputy telling the others to place the man in a recovery position, after which two deputies placed him on his side.

The Sheriff’s Office said the incident remains under investigation.