SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Sacramento-area
school district police officer is facing charges that he choked two suspects
and kicked another person in the head while they were handcuffed and threatened
still another person with a stun gun.
The Sacramento County District Attorney's office charged
37-year-old Twin Rivers Unified School District Officer Branche Smith on
Thursday with four misdemeanor counts of assault while on duty.
Smith faces up to four years in jail and a $10,000 fine if
convicted. He has been with the department since 2002. It was not immediately
clear whether he had retained an attorney.
The Sacramento Bee reports (http://bit.ly/LHdC9W) that a grand jury is
expected to release a report soon about the school district and its police
force. Among other allegations, school officials are accused of ordering school
police to conduct illegal background checks on students.