Rohnert Park officer shoots, injures armed man in city plaza standoff

A man who fired shots in front of the Rohnert Park police station Sunday night and demanded officers kill him was shot and wounded by an officer after an 80-minute standoff in the city plaza.

The names of the suspect and the ?officer involved were not released Monday.

According to a news release from Rohnert Park Public Safety, police first heard gunfire outside the station about 10:40 p.m. and found the man standing in the plaza with a gun. “Kill me,” he asked officers according the release, “kill me.”

A crisis negotiator responded and spoke with the man for about an hour but was unable to get him to drop the gun. When the man began approaching officers, they retreated and repeatedly yelled for him to drop the weapon. When the man moved toward one officer, officials said the officer fired, fearing for his life.

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office is investigating, following a countywide policy that an officer-involved shooting not be investigated by its own agency.

The wounded man was expected to survive, according to Sonoma County Sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Crum.

Law enforcement officials declined to answer any questions about the incident. Crum said further details on the shooting would be released after detectives gathered information.

The entire plaza was cordoned off with yellow police tape Monday morning and sheriff’s investigators documented the scene with 360-degree cameras. The city plaza is directly in front of the station and the Rohnert Park-Cotati Regional Library off Rohnert Park Expressway.

On the grass about 20 yards in front of the police building, clothing and other items possibly belonging to the suspect remained on the ground marked as evidence with yellow plastic markers. Evidence markers also were placed on the concrete at the front entrance of the police station, likely marking the position of the officer involved and possible casings from shots fired. Law enforcement would not say how many shots were fired.

The most recent officer-related death in Rohnert Park occurred in May 2017 when Branch Wroth, 41, died after an altercation with police where he was struck by a stun gun. Autopsy results released in December revealed Wroth died of cardiac arrest and had methamphetamine in his system. His family is suing the Rohnert Park Public Safety in federal court.

Guy James Fernandez, 42, died in November 2008 after an officer shocked him with a stun gun. It was later determined Fernandez died of cardiac arrest caused by a toxic level of methamphetamine in his system.

And in March 2008, Officer Robert Lankford shot and killed 31-year-old Heather Kathleen Billings, who was holding a razor while under the influence of a prescription drug and alcohol in her home. Lankford was cleared of wrongdoing by the Sonoma County District Attorney more than a year later.

You can reach Staff Writer Nick Rahaim at 707-521-5203 or nick.rahaim@pressdemocrat.com. Reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com.