Santa Rosa Cop Shoots, Kills Knife-Wielding Suspect During Brief Standoff
SANTA ROSA (CBS SF) -- A Santa Rosa police officer shot a suspect several times and killed him as the suspect allegedly advanced on officers with a knife Saturday, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office said on Sunday.
The sheriff's office is investigating the officer-involved shooting that happened Saturday after a call came in to the Santa Rosa Police Department at 5:58 a.m. from a residence on the 2400 block of West Steele Lane.
The sheriff's office released a statement with additional details about what happened between Santa Rosa Police Department officers and people at the residence.
Two people called Santa Rosa police Saturday morning, one of whom spoke Spanish and used a translation line service, and one of whom was crying and said someone in the home had a small laceration and needed medical attention, the sheriff's office said.
The first Santa Rosa police officer arrived at the home at 6:03 a.m., followed by two others at 6:05 a.m., the sheriff's office said.
At 6:12, officers asked the police dispatcher to send another officer and said that the suspect had a knife. At 6:15, an officer radioed that a Taser was deployed and was ineffective. At 6:17, a patrol sergeant arrived and at 6:18 an officer radioed that shots were fired, according to the sheriff's office.
The residence houses several different families and "numerous residents" were there Saturday morning, including at least two children who were in a different part of the house, the sheriff's office said.
One person there had a laceration, and that person was taken by ambulance to the hospital for treatment, according to the sheriff's office.
Police found an "agitated" resident in a bedroom under a mattress, armed with a 12-inch, sharp kitchen knife, the sheriff's office said.
The officers Tased the man and used pepper spray to try to disarm him, the sheriff's office said.
The sheriff's office doesn't know how many times the Taser was activated or how long it was activated. This information will be downloaded from the Taser and available later.
The officers tried to talk to the man "for several minutes" to de-escalate the situation, the sheriff's office said. The man was able to talk to the officers in English.
After several minutes of negotiations, the man advanced on the officers with the knife in his hand, the sheriff's office said. One officer shot the man several times, according to the sheriff's office.
The man went down and officers gave first aid, but the man died at the scene, the sheriff's office said.
A team of about 20 detectives was called in to investigate, and the team canvassed the neighborhood, did witness interviews, wrote and served search warrants, examined the crime scene and collected evidence, according to the sheriff's office.
An autopsy is scheduled for Monday morning. The dead man's identity is not being released at this time, the sheriff's office said.
Santa Rosa police said yesterday that the officers involved would be placed on administrative leave, as is customary in such cases.
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