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Sheriff's deputies fatally shoot armed Sonoma man
On tape, victim sketches plan to confront officers with rifle
Sonoma County sheriff's deputies and investigators secure the scene on Napa Road in Sonoma on Saturday after a man was shot to death in a confrontation with officers.
KENT PORTER / The Press DemocratPublished: Sunday, December 7, 2008 at 4:26 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, December 7, 2008 at 1:56 p.m.
A Sonoma man reported to be suicidal was shot and killed by Sonoma County sheriff's deputies Saturday as he wielded a rifle outside his Napa Road home.
A dramatic recounting of the violent confrontation between Craig Von Dohlen, 37, and deputies came in the emergency 911 call to the dispatch center, which kept the phone line open during the faceoff.
A man identified as Von Dohlen's father made the 911 call at 12:14 p.m., saying his son had a loaded .22-caliber rifle and was threatening to kill him and then commit suicide, according to a sheriff's news release issued late Saturday.
As deputies raced to the home near the Friedman's Home Improvement Center, a voice could be heard making threatening statements:
"I will shoot them right now. I'm not going back to prison, they will have to shoot me," the man identified as Von Dohlen said.
"I'm not going to shoot myself, they're going to have to kill me."
"I'm not going to kill anybody, but I'm gonna shoot cops."
At one point, he continued: "Dad, you've got like 50 seconds and I will blow your head off and then they will kill me." As the tension built, he warned, "I will go to hell, I've got no choice," and, "all I've got to do is pull the trigger and it will work."
Two deputies and two officers from the Sonoma police force, which is staffed by the Sheriff's Department, arrived within five minutes and took another five minutes to approach the driveway on foot, the department said.
In the summary of the 911 tape provided by the Sheriff's Department, Von Dohlen's father, identified as John Von Dohlen by neighbors, tells the deputies that his son is in the back yard.
Soon after, Von Dohlen is heard screaming at the responding deputies, and they are heard loudly shouting commands back to him. Multiple gunshots are heard. Von Dohlen was struck by gunfire, while none of the responding law enforcement officers was injured.
Witnesses said Von Dohlen was struck while standing in the driveway. He was transported by ambulance to Sonoma Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Next-door neighbor Susan Goggin said she was on the phone with her sister-in-law when she heard several gunshots and ran outside.
From her side of the fence, "I heard yelling, 'back up, back up, don't do that,' and screaming," she said. "They loaded him into the emergency vehicle and drove away slowly. I thought he was dead."
She described Von Dohlen as "kind of an introvert, quiet and reserved but a pleasant person. He did odd jobs for us and was always a very, very hard worker."
Sheriff Bill Cogbill, who was at the scene, said more than one deputy fired a weapon, but that investigators did not yet know how many shots were fired.
The two deputies and two Sonoma officers, who were not identified, were placed on administrative leave.
After the shooting, Von Dohlen's brother, John Von Dohlen, sat with his head in his hands on a curb. Sitting and talking with him was Fawn Kraut of the county's Law Enforcement Chaplaincy Service.
The father and other family members were not available for comment.
Deputies cordoned off the block in front of the home, and Napa Road was closed for several hours.
Santa Rosa police and the District Attorney's Office are conducting the investigation in accordance with Sonoma County's protocol for officer-related shootings.
Von Dohlen is the fourth person to be shot to death by North Coast law enforcement officials this year, and the fifth to die in an officer-involved incident this year.
Most recently, 52-year-old Guy James Fernandez died after being subdued with a stun gun by Rohnert Park public safety officers Nov. 9.
He was believed to have been under the influence of methamphetamine.
Of those shot by firearms, two were believed to be suicidal or mentally ill.
In January, 24-year-old mental health patient Jesse Hamilton was shot and killed by Santa Rosa police as he approached them with a large kitchen knife.
In March, 31-year-old Heather Billings was shot and killed by Rohnert Park officers when she refused to drop a straight-edge razor blade she was carrying as she approached officers.
In July, 63-year-old David Vestal was shot and killed by a Clearlake police officer after he leveled a shotgun at officers responding to a fight at the mobile home park where he lived.
Since 2000, 25 people in Sonoma County have died in officer-involved incidents, 23 of them from gunshot wounds. The remaining two were shot with stun guns.
(News researcher Vonnie Matthews contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Laura Norton at 521-5220 or laura.norton@pressdemocrat.com.)
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