DA clears deputy in Luke Smith deadly shooting
UPDATE 4/21/17: On Friday, the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office released its findings of an investigation into the deadly shooting of 15-year-old Luke Smith in Watsonville last November.
Santa Cruz County District Attorney Jeff Rosell said the deputy who shot and killed Smith has been cleared of any criminal charges.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office also plans to discuss the findings of that investigation and its own administrative investigation.
KION’s Mariana Hicks will have those developments as they come in.
UPDATE 12/5/2016 6:40 PM:
An autopsy has revealed that Luke Smith had both LSD and THC, the active ingredient in Marijuana, in his system, when he was shot and killed by a Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Deputy.
UPDATE 11/22/2016 5:45 PM:
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said it wanted to be transparent, which is why it released body camera video two days after a deputy shot and killed 15-year-old Luke Smith. Sheriff Hart didn’t just release the 16 minute body camera video, but also the 911 phone calls and dispatch communication.
The video is hard to watch, but Hart said he felt compelled to show the public what happened early Saturday morning, just north of Watsonville. That’s when Smith, apparently high on LSD, had just stabbed his father and uncle.
“Rather than have people come pound on my door or protest out front, I’m going to provide the information,” Hart said. “It was a promise I made when we transitioned our office to 21st Century policing. It was a promise I made to the board of supervisors when we purchased body cameras, and I’m going to honor that promise.”
Phil Stinson, an associate professor at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, has been tracking police shootings for more than two years. He said police are put in a hard place.
“The Sheriff’s Office recognizes that the public wants to see what happens in these cases and they want to see it right away,” Stinson said. “So it’s an effort to be transparent. Now that being said, if I were a prosecutor investigating a case like this, I would want to hold back on releasing the video until such time as an investigation had been completed. Perhaps they would show the victim’s family, but not publicly release it, so early. On the other hand, if I were an advocate, I would demand it be released. So we’ve got competing interests here and I’m not sure there is a right answer.”
But he said it’s better than not releasing the video at all.
“If an agency does not release a body camera or dash cam video right away, it raises questions,” Stinson said. “The public gets concerned, is there a cover-up here? Rumors get started as to what might have happened.”
And in accordance with the guidelines with 21st Century Community Policing, Hart is convening a Serious Incident Review Board, made up of community members and use-of-force instructors. The board is tasked with reviewing the incident then coming back with any recommendations. Hart is also turning the criminal investigation over to another agency.
“I’ve spoken with District Attorney Jeff Rosell and his office has agreed to conduct a criminal investigation and we are following our county-wide critical incident protocol,” Hart said. “My office is conducting an internal affairs investigation to ensure that all policies and procedures were followed.”
ORIGINAL POST:
Luke Smith was shot and killed by a deputy Saturday morning after allegedly stabbing his father and uncle. By Monday afternoon, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff had released body cam video of the shooting and audio from the stabbing victim’s 911 call.
Sheriff Jim Hart said his agency released the tapes in an effort to be transparent. Other police departments across the country haven’t been so forthcoming.
What are the advantages, and disadvantages, of releasing audio and video evidence so soon?
Tonight, KION’s Mariana Hicks speaks with an expert in criminal justice who has tracked officer-involved shootings for the past two-and-a-half years. Watch her report tonight at 5 and 6.
