Senator Bradford Issues Statement Regarding Sacramento County Sheriff

Senator Bradford Issues Statement Regarding Sacramento County Sheriff

SACRAMENTO – California Legislative Black Caucus Chair, Senator Steven Bradford, calls on Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones to resign his positon for dereliction of duty and for breeding a culture of racism, hatred and ignorance.

“Former Sacramento County Sheriff’s Captain Kate Adams, acting as the Chief of Police of the Rancho Cordova Police Department under the supervision of Sheriff Jones is the poster child for law enforcement bias.” Bradford said.

Senator Bradford added, “For the first time in California, both the Senate and the Assembly Public Safety Committee chairpersons are African-Americans. I am concerned, outraged, but not surprised by this behavior. The pervasive, ongoing racism that is rooted in law enforcement and in America is an issue that all people of color should be concerned and outraged by. This ongoing, blatant racist behavior under Sacramento Sheriff Scott Jones stops now.”

Former Sacramento County Sheriff’s Captain Kate Adams, acting as the Chief of Police of the Rancho Cordova Police Department under the supervision of Sheriff Jones, retired from her positon while on administrative leave during an investigation into allegations she engaged in misconduct, including the distribution of racially-charged text messages, memes, photographs, and homophobic behavior.

“My legislation, Senate Bill 2 (SB 2), which became California law on January 1, 2022 grants new powers to the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) to investigate and determine peace officer fitness and to decertify officers who engage in ‘serious misconduct.’ Although the investigation stopped when former Captain Adams retired, she should still be held accountable. SB 2 intends to hold all law enforcement officers accountable for misconduct.”

Senator Bradford further stated, “The investigation of Captain Adams must be completed and if the allegations are found to be confirmed, she should lose her POST certification so that she is unable to be hired by any other law enforcement agency to continue racist and hateful misconduct in another community. In addition, the 100s or perhaps 1000s of cases she’s handled over the years, under a climate of bias, must all be reviewed in an independent investigation.”

“Our communities must have faith that all law enforcement officers in California are held to the highest standards and will be held accountable for their misconduct,” Senator Bradford continued.

For press-related inquiries, such as requests for comment/interview, please contact Nital Patel at Nital.Patel@sen.ca.gov.

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Senator Bradford is Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus, Chair of the Senate Committee on Public Safety and represents the Los Angeles County communities of Carson, Compton, Gardena, Harbor City, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Lawndale, Lennox, San Pedro, Torrance, Watts, Willowbrook, and Wilmington.