The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office is reporting a slight downtick in uses of force last year — yet deputies sent more people to the hospital.
The annual use of force report shows total incidents, such as deputies punching people or using batons, pepper spray and flash bangs, decreased from 627 in 2023 to 621 in 2024. Of the 621 total incidents, more than 500 were in the jail and 113 happened out in the community. Yet these incidents required more people to be treated at the hospital, from 24 hospital visits in 2023 to 33 in 2024 — a year when in-custody deaths also reached a 20-year high.
“It indicates that higher levels of use of force are being used,” Sean Allen, president of the NAACP of San Jose/Silicon Valley and a former longtime correctional officer, told San José Spotlight.
Sheriff Bob Jonsen said the overall decrease in incidents is promising.
“The latest use of force report highlights positive progress in our efforts to minimize physical confrontations, using the least intrusive force possible, and prioritizing deescalation,” Jonsen told San José Spotlight. “By analyzing trends in our use of force incidents, we can proactively address areas for improvement and ensure our policies and protocols align with the expectations of the Board of Supervisors and the communities we serve.”
The county jails’ use of force incidents involved 769 people, as jail fights tend to involve multiple incarcerated people, according to the report. Chemical agents were the top method of using force on incarcerated people, followed by physically restraining people to the ground.
Incidents out in the field involved 117 people. Control holds and takedowns were the top method for using force out in the community, followed by punching and kicking, according to the report.
The report shows 61 jail staff were treated for injuries, with 50 requiring hospital treatment this year. Out in the field there were 15 staff injuries, three of which required hospital treatment, according to the report.
Michael Gennaco, a police reform consultant whose county-contracted company OIR Group conducts oversight of the sheriff’s office, said downward trends are always a good sign. But he said it’s crucial to review individual incidents in depth.
OIR Group expects to release its own annual report on the sheriff’s office in May, which will focus on the most serious and critical incidents where deputies sent people to the hospital. Gennaco said the numbers may shift substantially next year, reflecting this year’s first-time arming of jail deputies with Tasers — a contentious proposal that sparked scrutiny over Gennaco’s office.
“We’ll be looking very closely at that because of the concern the community has raised,” Gennaco told San José Spotlight.
He added the jails’ paper-based record keeping is in the process of becoming digital, possibly leading to better incident tracking. The paper records have jammed up jail releases in Santa Clara County. San José Spotlight previously reported Jonsen’s office was releasing more inmates late at night — when no housing or behavioral health resources are available — than jails in surrounding Bay Area counties.
Correctional deputies reported their top reason for using force was to stop inmate fights, followed by people resisting officers’ commands. Field deputies reported their top reason for using force stemmed from people resisting arrest, followed by deputies claiming self defense.
Latinos continue to be overrepresented among the total number of people who deputies hit or physically subdued — at 52% of the 769 people in jail and 43% of the 117 people out in the field.
“That’s still one of the most alarming things for us,” Allen said. “Use of force continues to disproportionately impact people of color.”
Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X.
