Investigation finds Rohnert Park police officer justified in pulling gun

A city of Rohnert Park investigation prompted by a widely viewed video of a police officer pulling his gun on a resident who recorded the encounter on a cellphone found that the officer’s actions were reasonable and did not violate city policy.

City officials released a two-page summary of the investigation’s findings Wednesday, three months after the July 29 video taken by Rohnert Park resident Don McComas went viral. His encounter with Officer Dave Rodriguez sparked internal investigations by city and police officials as public questions swirled about when an officer is justified in drawing a gun.

Jarin Beck, an attorney for McComas, said that he is not surprised by city’s findings because “all too often these investigations find that they acted in compliance.” He said they will file a civil rights claim against the city on Thursday.

“This incident was wrong because Officer Rodriguez used his implied authority to intimidate, threaten and assault a citizen who was doing absolutely nothing but hooking up his boat,” Beck said, noting that a person doesn’t need to be touched to be assaulted.

In the claim, McComas accused the officer of causing him emotional distress and “blatantly” falsifying a police report. He argued that his video footage shows inconsistencies in the officer’s report.

McComas is seeking more than $25,000 in general and punitive damages in the claim, dated Oct. 22. The city has 45 days to respond to the claim. If the city rejects it, McComas plans to file a civil lawsuit.

Assistant City Manager Don Schwartz said he couldn’t provide further detail than what was in the public summary of the city’s investigation. Rodriguez is now working in the fire division, a transfer he requested earlier in July before the incident, he said.

The city hired licensed attorney and private investigator Sue Ann Van Dermyden with the Van Dermyden Law Corporation to conduct the investigation.

On July 29, McComas was in his driveway on Hermitage Way hitching his boat to a vehicle when he noticed a police officer driving slowly around his cul-de-sac. He started taking video.

The five-minute video he later posted has been viewed more than 482,000 times on YouTube and widely shared, joining a growing body of footage showing police interacting with members of the public.

The video shows a marked police SUV driving into the cul-de-sac outside McComas’ home and idling for two minutes before the officer gets out of the vehicle, walks toward McComas and orders him to remove his left hand from his pocket.

When McComas refuses, the officer draws his semi-automatic handgun, pointing the barrel downward. What follows is an uneasy conversation that lasts about two minutes until Rodriguez re-holsters his weapon and gets back into his patrol vehicle.

Rodriguez was in the neighborhood because of complaints that “someone in the neighborhood was violating city parking codes,” according to the city’s report.

He was checking the registration of vehicles when he “saw the resident quickly duck behind the truck after his patrol car came into view.”

“The officer considered this suspicious behavior, and decided to investigate further.”

The officer told the city’s hired investigators that McComas was exhibiting an “agitated demeanor” and refused “to comply with the officer’s instruction to remove his hand from his pocket, which had a bulge in it.”

The city’s investigation found the officer “reasonably exercised his right to stop and have contact with the resident, and did so for legitimate reasons and not for the purpose of harassing or mistreating the resident.”

And the brief summary report stated that investigators further found “it was reasonable for the Officer to unholster his duty weapon at the point he did during the encounter with the resident.”

The report noted that while McComas initially agreed to be interviewed for the city’s investigation, he later canceled the meeting and declined to participate.

However, city officials acknowledged in the report that “in this incident, we recognize that there is the opportunity for improvement in some areas.”

The report did not explain further.

Beck said he found the timing of the city’s announcement interesting because a Bay Area television news program was scheduled to air an updated story on the issue later this week.

A civil rights claim against the city is a step required before an individual may sue the city, which Beck said McComas intends to do.

“The manner in which the officer handled himself, pulling out the gun, walking towards him, it was intended to give Don the impression that he was going to hurt him. It was done so in a threatening way,” Beck said.

Staff Writer Eloísa Ruano González contributed to the story. You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.