Unreasonable Force Charges Against Correctional Deputy Dismissed

ERIN M. DERVIN
Senior Associate
Mastagni Holstedt, APC

On August 23, 2017, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen dismissed charges he filed against Correctional Deputy Thanh “Timmy” Tri. Deputy Tri had been accused of using unreasonable force during an interaction with an inmate in the Santa Clara County Jail in October 2013. The dismissal comes after a July 2017 trial, where a jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict. That jury voted 11–1 that Tri was not guilty of the charges.

Late in the evening of October 3, 2013, Tri and other correctional officers received an emergency call to assist an officer who had been attacked by an inmate. The inmate threatened the officer, then refused to get onto the ground when ordered to do so. The struggle turned violent when the inmate resisted efforts to handcuff him. The officer, in fear for his safety, pressed an emergency alarm summoning backup officers. Tri was the first backup officer to arrive at the scene and found his partner engaged in a violent struggle with the out-of-control inmate. Tri had a duty to assist in controlling the violent inmate, and to prevent his partner from being seriously injured. Tri delivered blows to the head and neck area in order to get the inmate to stop fighting with his partner. When that did not work, he struck the inmate in the back, which was also ineffective against the belligerent inmate. Other officers arrived after Tri and deployed knee strikes and punches to various parts of the inmate’s body. It took a total of five officers to overpower the inmate and get him in restraints. Three correctional officers were injured in the incident, including Tri.

In early 2014, the district attorney reviewed the investigation of Tri and declined to file charges, finding that insufficient evidence existed of any criminal acts by him, as the use of force was determined to be necessary and reasonable under the circumstances. After a 2015 incident in the Santa Clara County Jail, the district attorney undertook a review of old cases and resurrected this case just weeks before the statute of limitations was due to expire. Capitulating to public outcry and claims of “problems” in the Santa Clara County jails, the case was filed, despite the fact that the district attorney had previously determined the conduct of Tri was lawful.

In the July 2017 trial, the responding officers all testified that during the incident, the inmate was thrashing violently and rolling from side to side while his arms and legs were unsecured as he tried to grab at, escape from and injure the officers. Also at trial, expert witnesses — including a training officer from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Corrections Academy — testified about the high level of danger demonstrated by the conduct of the inmate in this incident and how correctional officers are trained to use force in order to repel dangerous inmates.

The defense in this case always maintained that what Tri did was necessary to prevent his partner and other officers from being injured by the dangerous inmate. The inmate in this case created a dangerous situation and placed officers in a position where they had no choice but to defend themselves and others. Law enforcement officers have to make split-second decisions in rapidly evolving scenarios involving dangerous subjects on a regular basis. Correctional officers have a duty to ensure the care and safety of inmates as well as their fellow officers when inside the county jail. They cannot allow a dangerous inmate to threaten staff verbally or physically; they have a duty to protect those in danger. They are trained to use force only when an inmate is presenting a physical danger to themselves or others.

In the past decade, due to AB 109 and Propositions 47 and 57, county jails throughout California are now housing violent inmates who in the past would be incarcerated in state prison. These types of inmates create serious risks to the safety of correctional officers.

About the Author

Deputy Tri was defended by Erin M. Dervin of Mastagni Holstedt, APC. She is a former prosecutor who represents police associations and their members in criminal and administrative matter