Few new details in Santa Rosa police shooting of man with knife

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office released little new information Sunday about a Santa Rosa Police officer's fatal shooting early Saturday of a knife-wielding man in a West Steele Lane home.

A press release from the Sheriff's Office did not identify the victim, the officer involved or the number of shots fired.

The release did state that the unidentified victim, described as Latino, was armed with a 12-inch kitchen knife. According to the release, the man was under a mattress, and despite officers using pepper spray and a Taser an unknown number of times, followed by several minutes of negotiations in English, the man advanced on police.

“One officer shot the man several times,” the release stated. “The amount of shots fired, the amount of times and location the man was struck will be determined in the course of the investigation.”

Aid was rendered immediately but the man was declared dead at the scene. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday.

According to the release, the home in the 2400 block was occupied by numerous residents at the time of the incident, which began with a Spanish speaker calling dispatchers about 6 a.m. using a translation line service. Dispatchers were unable to glean much information until a second person got on the phone crying, saying someone in the home had “a small laceration” and needed medical help.

The first officer arrived at 6:03 a.m., followed by two more two minutes later. The Taser was deployed at 6:15. A patrol sergeant arrived at the scene at 6:17 and at 6:18 an officer radioed that shots were fired.

At least two children were in the home during the incident, according to the release. The person with the laceration was taken to a local hospital.

About 20 detectives were called in to investigate, interviewing other residents of the house and neighbors, and collecting evidence.

The officers involved were wearing body cameras, but police said they would not release the video footage, citing the pending investigation. All of the involved officers will be placed on administrative leave, standard procedure in such cases.

You can reach Staff writer Diane Peterson can be reached at 707-521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @dianepete56.