Deadly U-Turn: Benjamin Jillson and the Death of Denzil Broadhurst

December 3, 2023

Sacramento Police Officer Benjamin Jillson was convicted after a Halloween night patrol-car crash killed 61-year-old motorcyclist Denzil Ollen Broadhurst.

The collision happened just after 8:10 p.m. on October 31, 2022, in the area of Bell Street and May Street in Sacramento. According to the Sacramento Police Department, Jillson was driving a marked police vehicle while heading to a call involving a felony in progress. Police later said Jillson did not have his emergency lights or siren activated when his patrol vehicle and Broadhurst’s motorcycle collided in the roadway.

Broadhurst suffered serious injuries and was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Sacramento police said detectives from the Major Collision Investigations Unit and crime scene investigators handled the investigation and found facts supporting a vehicular manslaughter charge. The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office agreed with that finding.

On March 1, 2023, a Sacramento County Superior Court judge issued a misdemeanor warrant for Jillson on a vehicular manslaughter charge. Jillson turned himself in to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, where he was processed and released. At that time, Sacramento police said Jillson remained on administrative leave with his peace officer powers suspended.

The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office announced on November 2, 2023, that Jillson was convicted and sentenced for misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence. The DA said Jillson accepted a court offer of 90 days in county jail, but that jail sentence was suspended as long as he successfully completed 100 hours of community service involving veterans’ services. The DA’s Office said it objected to the offer.

The veteran-related community service was requested by Broadhurst’s family in his honor. KCRA reported that Broadhurst’s family attorney said the family was pleased to see Jillson charged, but emphasized that nothing could bring back Broadhurst, a husband and father.

ABC10 and The Sacramento Bee also reported that Sacramento approved a $2 million civil settlement connected to Broadhurst’s death. The criminal outcome, however, was far lighter: no immediate jail time if Jillson completed the ordered community service.

The case is another reminder that police vehicles can become deadly weapons when officers fail to drive safely. Whether an officer is responding to a serious call or not, the public still has a right to expect that a patrol vehicle will not be turned into the path of an innocent motorcyclist without lights, sirens, or enough care to prevent a fatal crash.

Sources