Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Files: A Bad Situation Made Worse

In June, following the death of George Floyd and amid renewed scrutiny over how and when law enforcement officers use physical force against civilians, the Independent filed a California Public Records Act request with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office for information on serious use-of-force incidents dating back to 2010. The Sheriff’s Office is releasing the records on a rolling basis, and these reports will be published as the information is made available.

It’s a little before 10 p.m. on October 6, 2013, and Jeremy Bordegaray finds himself in a familiar situation ― handcuffed in the back of a police car. Bordegaray, a repeat drug offender recently out on parole, had just been arrested for breaking into a beach house in a gated Carpinteria community. Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office deputies also found a loaded handgun in his backpack and methamphetamine in his truck.