In today's episode of Sacramento County Supervisors Behave Without Basic Human Decency, we'll be reporting back on what people who showed up at the 3/28/23 Sac County BOS meeting to provide public comment had to say. There were comments on items both on and off the agenda.
A full playlist of powerful public comments (as well as a one deeply problematic comment from Board Chair Desmond) can be found here.
On off agenda matters:
Several older adult, white property owners showed up to talk about park land (Del Paso Regional Park) being run down and to complain about the lack of City police patrol and enforcement to maintain the park and address “crime” like drug dealing and “encampments.”
IN CONTRAST, others came to talk about the Sac Sheriff killings of people of color who were experiencing mental health crises: Jaime Naranjo and Sherrano Stingley.
Dymin Stingley played the video of Sacramento Sheriff deputies beating and killing her dad, while she spoke
The video below captures comments from local advocate Meg White detailing a very clear list of demands from the BOS, and Dymin Stingley (daughter of Sherrano Stingley) making a moving statement, a narrative from her father’s perspective read over the video of his beating.
Content warning: this video below includes body cam footage from the assault on Sherrano Stingley, and the statement includes a detailed description of the event.
Transcript of Dymin Stingley's comment: I'm a daughter of Sherrano Stingley and I'm coming to tell a story. I am my father's voice and I'm going to recount for you his last moments alive. During the early morning of December 6, 2022 I was in a mental health crisis. My schizophrenia was causing me to be paranoid, confused and anxious. I was trying to get back to my house where I live with my daughter. When I made it to my block, all the houses looked similar, I was confused and afraid, felt like someone was chasing me. I started frantically knocking on doors looking for my daughter. In a state of panic, I tried to hide in my daughter's car for safety. When I realized it wasn't my daughter's car, I kept frantically searching, losing my shoes, leaving them scattered around my neighborhood. As I continued knocking on doors looking for my daughter, one of the neighbors called 911 because they were confused as to why am I knocking frantically. That would be the last door I ever knocked on. Without identifying themselves, Sacramento Sheriff ordered me to show my hands and get on the ground. When I complied, they continued to yell commands. Next they pulled my shirt over my head and hit me with a flashlight. I was scared and confused, wondering what I did wrong. I just wanted to get home to my daughter. More officers came and continued to excessively beat me. After I was in cuffs, I lifted my head to breathe. It was shoved back down. I wasn't trying to hurt anyone and as the officers continued to beat me I grunted in pain, told them I was just trying to breathe, and grabbed on a sleeve to stop them from hitting me. And as I plead for my life and called out for my daughter, the officers beat the life out of me. After the Sacramento Sheriff killed me they continue to drag my name and lie and call me a thief lying about tazing and choking me. They stole my life leaving my daughter to pick up the pieces.
So you're telling me that if somebody is trying to make it home, that's okay to kill somebody— I want all of the body camera footage to be released. I want the 911 call to be released. I want the officers to be held accountable. I could tell Desmond, you don't care you’re not making no eye contact. You're gonna make some eye contact and you're gonna help this… I want all the 911 calls. I want you to feel me. You’re gonna feel me. How would you ever make someone’s dad yell their daughter's name? You're gonna feel me. Watch the video
Elisa Naranjo (widow of Jaime Naranjo)
Elisa Naranjo is the widow of Jaime Naranjo, and in her comment she talks about feeling unsafe and terrified since her husband was killed by a Sac County Sheriff's deputy, and repeatedly stated she wants “closure” and for the cops to return her property.
Erica Naranjo (Jaime Naranjo's daughter):
She said after playing a video of “how silly her dad was” where he was doing yoga with her daughter
That’s who my dad was – not a crazed man with a machete – he needed help. And he was gunned down. No Remorse. We still have no answers. My mom is broken. My family is broken. I am broken. I lost my hero. I lost my best friend. And no one cares. My dad is gone. My hero is gone. A pillar of the community is gone. He was a dad to everyone. My dad is gone. Where is the accountability? Where are the answers. You said you were gonna help us. You’re not doing nothing. My dad is gone. Imagine if you lost someone the way my dad died. Imagine if you left your daughter the way my dad left me
County Clerk Flo was moved to tears by Erica's heartfelt comments.
As Niki explained - the indignation from the Supervisors and the indignation from the community are coming from very different places. The COMMUNITY'S indignation is coming from the pain and trauma caused by continued abuse from law enforcement, AND from our Board's refusal to take action to hold our Sheriff accountable, as well as their refusal to allocate funding within the County budget to projects and programs that would heal the community, rather than giving it away to the Sheriff. The Board's indignation is coming from a place of not wanting to hear community voices, and wanting to shove all discourse into polite boxes that won't disrupt the foundation of their white supremacist power structure.
The text below is a snippet of a comment from community advocate Berry Accius, who provides powerful testimony regarding the continued injustice, harm, and violence being inflicted upon the community
Are we saying that law enforcement was in their right to kill these people in their moment of mental health? Are we saying that this is the kind of precedent we want to show in our community in Sacramento County that when there's a mental health episode, black and brown, law enforcement will come, and then they will assassinate innocent people?
You're just agitated for a moment -- this Tuesday morning. They're agitated for the rest of their life....No one on this board is doing enough to make sure the families understand what is actually going on
That's why they've come here frustrated, that's why they've come here angry because they have not heard enough answers, not enough solutions. And us as a community we've given solutions and our solutions have not been heard.
Utilize the budget and put it back into the community so we can help police ourselves
The following commenter started to speak about Sacramento Self Help Housing, and Supervisor Desmond asked them to wait and save comments about agenda items for later in the meeting. This prompted shouts from the crowd of "Are you gonna talk about the Sheriff killing people? Is that on the agenda too?"
Instead of recognizing their voices and offering words of support or compassion like he did during the same meeting towards other, whiter speakers, he recessed the meeting. This did not help the situation, and protesters could still be heard quite clearly when they returned, resulting in him recessing the meeting a second time and having security and sheriff’s officers clear the chambers, inflicting more trauma on family members who were present to express their trauma caused by law enforcement.
3/28 BOS meeting additional content: Consent item 37
Supervisor Frost reminded everyone of her bigotry by pathetically noting her no vote on what was otherwise a “consent item” - the Resolution Recognizing Transgender Visibility Week
SJPC's Instagram post summarizing Trans Visibility Week resolutions in the Sacramento region can be seen below, and is also linked here
In the video below you can see Sue Frost making sure to register her "no" vote on this resolution
Brave members and allies of the LGBTQI+ community provided powerful statements in support of recognizing Transgender Visibility Week and pointed out their disappointment in the fact that unlike the Sacramento City Council and Sacramento City Unified School District – for whom recognizing Transgender Visibility Week was unanimous – Sac County’s action wasn’t. Samuel (they/them) showed the Supervisors a list of black trans women murdered in 2023, including Tisiyah Woodland who was murdered on March 24, 2023, who just turned 18 and noted that recognizing “people for who they are…is like the least thing that you can do.” After calling out Frost’s bigotry and lack of empathy for people fighting for basic recognition of their humanity, Keyan asked the County to go beyond the bare minimum and performative gestures.
Let's hope the County listens.