Public Safety · Elk Grove, CA
Elk Grove police officers placed 37-year-old Scott Saetern in a WRAP restraint device and spit hood inside a patrol car for 10 minutes during an apparent mental health crisis at a gas station on June 28, 2025; he lost consciousness and later died. Despite the availability of Sacramento County's HOPE line and Community Wellness Response Team (CWRT), neither the first officer nor seven additional responders called for mental health professionals. The county confirmed no HOPE Line calls were received from EGPD that day. Mental health advocates and a disability rights attorney are calling on California Attorney General Rob Bonta to investigate, while Assemblymember Nick Schultz is considering legislation requiring release of footage and disciplinary records in suspected asphyxia deaths. EGPD declined further comment citing pending litigation; the coroner listed cocaine toxicity as the cause of death.
Local Politics · Elk Grove, CA
The Elk Grove City Council held its 18th regular meeting of 2026 on Wednesday, October 14. Public comment focused on surveillance operations and cost-recovery plans for Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen's failed Sacramento Zoo relocation project. The council also reviewed a groundwater management presentation and conducted a hearing on a workforce housing plan.
Public Safety · Elk Grove, CA
An editorial calls on Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen and the city council to demand answers from Police Chief Bobby Davis regarding the June 2025 death of Scott Saetern, an unarmed 37-year-old who died after officers restrained him during an apparent mental health crisis. According to Sacramento Bee investigative reporting cited in the piece, officers did not request an available county mental health response team, placed Saetern in a full-body restraint with a spit hood, and left him unattended for 10 minutes; the Sacramento County coroner listed cocaine toxicity as the cause of death. The editorial also references ongoing resident concerns about automated license plate readers (Flock cameras) and argues that pending litigation should not prevent council scrutiny of departmental policies, training, and accountability.
