Jury acquits ex-deputy in 2019 traffic stop death
“That conduct was unacceptable. Nothing changes in that regard.” Mark Essick, Sonoma County sheriff, on deputy who retired rather than be fired
Sonoma County jurors on Wednesday cleared a former sheriff 's deputy of criminal wrongdoing in the 2019 death of a man during a roadside stop that gained notoriety when a video of the violent encounter was released by the Sheriff 's Office.
Former deputy Charles Blount had been accused of involuntary manslaughter and assault in the death of David Ward, a 52-year-old man who died as Blount and other deputies tried to force him out of his car. Jurors acquitted Blount of both charges in a verdict returned Wednesday in Sonoma County Superior Court.
Blount's trial was the first time a Sonoma County law enforcement officer had been arrested and tried on criminal charges in the death of a person he was trying to detain. Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick said at the time that Blount used excessive force and violated department policies. The sheriff said he would fire Blount, who retired instead.
But prosecutors failed to convince jurors during the monthlong trial that his actions were criminal.
Harry Stern, Blount's attorney, said the verdict proves jurors were moved by defense evidence that showed Ward was in extraordinarily frail health and had consumed a toxic amount of methamphetamine. Blount's actions, Stern argued, were reasonable although rough, and he conceded that the body-camera video presented at trial was hard to watch.
“We extend our condolences to Mr. Ward's family and friends,” Stern told The Chronicle after court on Tuesday. “I know it was a very painful loss, no doubt, and we haven't forgotten that.”
The pursuit began on Nov. 27, 2019, when a deputy spotted Ward's vehicle, which had been reported stolen in an armed carjacking, officials said. The deputy tried to stop the car, not knowing that Ward was behind the wheel and had somehow gotten his car back.
Ward, inexplicably, didn't stop for the deputy and instead led a growing number of law enforcement officers on a lowspeed chase. The seven-minute pursuit ended when a deputy rammed Ward's car to stop it in rural Sebastopol, where Ward lived. But he didn't exit the car as ordered by deputies.
When Blount arrived at the scene, several deputies and officers had Ward, who was still in the driver's seat, at gunpoint.
Blount walked past the other deputies, knocking on the driver's side window with his gun, finger on the trigger. An assistant sheriff testified at trial that Blount created a more dangerous situation for his colleagues.
The encounter became more aggressive from there. Blount tried to pull Ward out of the car through the driver's side window, at points wrapping his arm around Ward's neck — a restraint tactic that has since been banned — and smashing Ward's head into the door frame, video from the scene shows. Ward appeared disoriented and resisted Blount's attempts to get him out of the car, at one point biting his arm, according to the video. He and other deputies eventually got Ward onto the ground and discovered he wasn't breathing.
A coroner's investigation found Ward died from the physical confrontation, including blunt-impact injuries, Blount's neck restraint and being shocked by a stun gun. His death was ruled a homicide.
District Attorney Jill Ravitch said Ward's frail health was a factor in his death, though she believed the facts supported bringing Blount to trial.
“While I accept the verdict in this case, I hope it speaks out in support of continued transparency and accountability on the part of law enforcement and the community,” Ravitch said.
Ward's death triggered public outcry in the community and calls for an end to law enforcement's use of the carotid hold, a tactic to stop blood flow in a person's neck that can make them fall unconscious. Gov. Gavin Newsom banned the use of carotid holds in 2020 after the high-profile police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Essick said the jury's verdict doesn't change his department's position that Blount's aggressive actions violated policy, creating unnecessary risk for Ward and the other law enforcement officers at the scene.
“That conduct was unacceptable,” Essick said. “Nothing changes in that regard.”