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Amelian Tremond Houff

Age : 20

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 08/29/2021

Location : Elder Creek Road and Bradshaw Road

City : Sacramento

County : Sacramento

State : California

Agency : Sacramento Police Department; Sacramento County Sheriff's Office

Officer(s) :Not disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Driver killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/29/2021, Sacramento Police Department officers responded to a burglary at a marijuana dispensary in Rancho Cordova. As several individuals left the scene in two vehicles, Officer Mitchell Barrett attempted to stop one of them. The driver, identified as 20-year-old Amelian Houff of Hayward, continued driving while Barrett pursued for approximately one mile along Elder Creek Road. During the pursuit, Houff's vehicle was reported to be traveling at speeds exceeding 100 mph before it left the roadway near the intersection of Elder Creek Road and Bradshaw Road and crashed violently into a tree, becoming lodged several feet above the ground in the tree's branches.
When Officer Barrett arrived, an eyewitness directed him to the crash site. Houff remained trapped inside the wrecked vehicle and repeatedly called out for help. Additional officers from the Sacramento Police Department and deputies from the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office responded. According to a federal civil rights lawsuit later filed by Houff's parents, responding supervisors assumed Houff was armed because of the reported burglary and established a tactical perimeter around the vehicle. The lawsuit alleges that officers prevented rescuers and paramedics from approaching the wreck despite Houff's visible injuries and repeated pleas for assistance.
The lawsuit identifies Sacramento Police Lt. Brian Scott Ellis as the senior Sacramento police supervisor at the scene and alleges that, while Houff remained alive inside the vehicle, Ellis joked during a telephone conversation that the crash resembled "Dukes of Hazzard" and laughed about the situation. The complaint further alleges that Ellis ordered the only ambulance that had staged nearby to leave the scene even though Houff continued calling for help. Sacramento County Sheriff's Sgt. Jim Spurgeon and Lt. Michael Daniels allegedly chose to delay approaching the vehicle while waiting for additional tactical resources, including a drone operator, despite officers reporting that Houff was still alive. The lawsuit states that security footage from the burglary was later reviewed and showed no firearms had been used, but officers nevertheless continued to delay making contact.
According to the Sacramento County Coroner, Houff sustained his injuries at approximately 4:53 a.m. Officers did not approach the vehicle until approximately 7:17 a.m., nearly two and one-half hours later. When they finally reached the vehicle, Houff had suffered a severe head wound and was partially hanging out of the driver's window. He was pronounced dead at the scene at approximately 7:30 a.m. The official cause of death was blunt force injuries sustained in the crash.
In 2022, Houff's parents filed a federal wrongful death and civil rights lawsuit represented by civil rights attorney John L. Burris, alleging that although the crash caused catastrophic injuries, law enforcement officers violated Houff's constitutional rights by deliberately delaying lifesaving medical care and preventing emergency medical personnel from treating him while he remained alive. The lawsuit names Officer Mitchell Barrett, Sgt. Michael Frazier, Lt. Brian Scott Ellis, Sgt. Jim Spurgeon, Lt. Michael Daniels, the City of Sacramento, Sacramento Police Department personnel, Sacramento County, and Sacramento County Sheriff's Office personnel.
In October 2025, Sacramento County agreed to pay $1.62 million to settle the claims against the county and sheriff's personnel. The settlement resolved only the county's portion of the lawsuit. As of July 2026, litigation against the City of Sacramento and Sacramento police defendants remains pending. Court filings by the defendants deny deliberate indifference, arguing that officers believed Houff could have been armed and were attempting to balance emergency medical care with scene safety. Attorneys for Lt. Ellis argued that Houff's fatal injuries resulted from the crash itself rather than any subsequent delay. Attorneys representing Sgt. Spurgeon and Lt. Daniels similarly contended they were attempting to render aid safely under uncertain circumstances.
The case has drawn significant public attention because of allegations that Houff remained alive for hours after the crash while emergency medical treatment was withheld, raising broader questions about police pursuit practices, tactical decision-making, and delays in providing medical care following police incidents.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article316508874.html