Yuba County jury acquits deputy who was charged with excessive force in burglary arrest

A jury has acquitted a Yuba County sheriff’s deputy of an excessive force charge.

Deputy Henry Abe, 35, acquired a misdemeanor assault charge when he kicked 59-year-old Jerry Johnson while in handcuffs as a detained burglary suspect in early 2022, according to the Yuba County District Attorney’s Office. The kick, which was captured on body cameras, was determined to not be excessive and Abe was found not guilty Thursday after a two-day trial.

It was the second time in more than six years that the deputy’s actions were determined to be justified in connection with an on-duty incident.

On Feb. 14, 2022, Abe was called to a residence on Forty Mile Road in Wheatland for a burglary in progress, according to prosecutors.

When Abe and other deputies arrived at the scene, the suspect, Johnson, had been detained by neighbors in a field next to the house, according to a news release from the District Attorney’s Office.

A deputy placed Johnson in handcuffs.

The DA’s Office said Johnson could be heard breathing hard and asked for a moment to catch his breath when deputies instructed him to get his feet.

Abe told Johnson to get up or he would “boot” him in the ribs. Johnson replied “boot me in the ribs,” and Abe kicked him, according to prosecutors. Johnson then got to his feet and deputies walked him to a nearby patrol vehicle.

Johnson was not injured by the kick, prosecutors said.

In his defense, Abe said the kick was necessary because he was worried that a second suspect could be hiding nearby with a firearm. The Yuba County DA’s Office said in a published statement that the video from the body-worn cameras did not show any particular hurry or concern on the part of the deputies.

Yuba County Sheriff’s Deputy Kenny Smith, who teaches defensive tactics for the Sheriff’s Department, testified at trial that the kick was outside of policy and not legally necessary, according to the DA’s Office. Smith said in court that even if Abe needed to hurry, he should not have kicked the handcuffed suspect when he had other options such as standing the suspect up or dragging him from the field.

The DA’s Office said a use-of-force expert hired by the defense testified that the kick was not excessive under the circumstances.

Johnson was convicted in October of the residential burglary and sentenced under California’s “three-strikes” law to serve 25 years to life in prison.

“Kicking a handcuffed, out-of-breath suspect who wasn’t resisting is unreasonable on its face,” said Yuba County District Attorney Clint Curry in the news release. “We file charges based on the evidence, but it’s ultimately up to the jury to decide what ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ means in each case. I respect their decision.”

Abe’s actions in a different incident were also justified

In April 2018, the Yuba County District Attorney’s Office determined that Abe’s shooting and killing of Eddie Sanders, 30, in October 2017 in Olivehurt was justified.

In that incident in the early morning of Oct. 13, 2017, deputies arrived to the 4200 block of Fiesta Way after a relative of Sanders had called 911 after they heard the sound of banging on the garage door and someone talking to themselves.

During the deputies’ time at the residence, Sanders had thrown screws and glass at them, thrust an operating power tool from a hole in the wall and threatened the deputies would be hurt or killed.

Sanders, who had a history of substance abuse and mental health issues and was later determined to have methamphetamine in his system during this incident, was confronted by Abe in the attic of a house.

Abe sent his K-9 unit in first to the attic, which was tight and difficult to move in, according to reports. Sanders stabbed the dog after it bit his left arm.

Abe reported that Sanders then began to square up to him and lean forward with a screwdriver elevated in his hand. He said he believed Sanders would stab at him, so he fired his handgun multiple times at Sanders’ head, killing him.