A Sacramento deputy has been fired for sending an explicit photo to a mental health patient he met on a 911 call

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office has fired a deputy who responded to a call for help from a 21-year-old woman, later sent her a photo of his genitals and paid her for a pornographic video.

This year the county also paid $40,000 to settle A A lawsuit filed by the woman against the county County spokeswoman Jana Haynes said regarding the incident.

In July 2022, Deputy Patrick Walker, 40 at the time, responded to a call for service made by friends of a woman who was 21 at the time, according to Sheriff’s Office internal affairs documents. Released last week. Her friends said she disappeared and intended to commit suicide by taking an overdose of cocaine and fentanyl. In an attempt to help her, Walker used his work cell to send a text message to the woman, and deputies found her and admitted her to the hospital, where she remained for three days under mental health care, documents state.

Documents indicate that about a week after the initial call, Walker sent a text message to the woman to check on her well-being. She responded, and they started texting. She asked him if he was married, and when he said yes, she said his wife was a “lucky woman.”

Walker then explained that he wanted to have sex with her, the documents state, and the two agreed that he would pay her $100 for each nude photo. He sent her a photo of his genitals, and she then sent him a pornographic video. Walker did not pay her for this, then blocked her on Facebook Messenger. She then sent a text message to his work phone asking for money, and he sent her $400, the documents state.

The woman’s stepfather later contacted the Sheriff’s Office to file a complaint alleging Walker was using his power to take advantage of the woman, who had just suffered a mental health crisis, used illegal drugs, and had been sexually assaulted in the past.

“The evidence in this case is indisputable,” Chief Deputy Matt Peterson wrote in an internal memo in November 2022. “Representative Walker has publicly expressed his sexual desires… via digital messages. He eventually paid $400 for a nude video of her. Walker’s deputy admitted his behavior was wrong and “brought shame to this administration.” It is clear that Representative Walker understood that his behavior was unacceptable, which is evidence of his attempt to hide his conversations by transferring them from his work phone to Facebook Messenger and then deleting all messages from his devices.

“(The woman) had a mental health crisis, which we helped her with, but then she was victimized by Deputy Walker based on his sexual desires.”

The woman told investigators she didn’t want Walker to get in trouble, but she didn’t think he should be allowed to answer mental health calls anymore.

Walker violated the Sheriff’s Office General Orders regarding conflict relationships, social media and cell phone use in the county. The General Orders state: “To avoid actual or perceived conflicts of interest, members of this Department shall refrain from developing or maintaining personal or business relationships with victims, witnesses, or other individuals during the course of or as a direct result of any official contact.”

Walker did not respond to an email seeking comment. “Later, he believed he took advantage of the situation in order to satisfy his sexual desires,” he said during an interview with investigators. He said that despite their age difference, how they met, and her mental illness, that was not his intention at the time.

The Sheriff’s Office posted the documents online after an attorney for The Sacramento Bee sent the office a letter requesting that the office post its disciplinary documents on its website more quickly, in order to comply with Senate Bill 1421.

Online records you maintain Transparent California It turns out Walker earned $176,608 in wages last year. Documents indicate he was employed by the Sheriff’s Office for 18 years, including a decade on patrol.