Santa Rosa parolee arrested after Petaluma standoff

A Santa Rosa parolee was shot with a stun gun and arrested Thursday night after he chased a woman working inside a Petaluma mall and was in a standoff with police.

Daniel Rauer, 36, was arrested on several charges, including suspicion of committing domestic battery, false imprisonment, robbery, intimidating a witness, a restraining order violation, resisting a police officer with violence and obstructing an officer, as well as a parole violation.

Rauer was on parole as a result of a conviction in Mill Valley in Marin County last year for driving while under the influence and obstructing or resisting an officer, according to Petaluma Police Sgt. Ryan McGreevy. He was under a restraining order to not contact the woman at the store, according to a news release from the Petaluma Police Department.

At about 6:05 p.m., the Petaluma police 911 dispatch center received an emergency call from a store in the Plaza South Shopping Center from a woman screaming for help from a store where she worked. The woman used the store’s mobile phone and Rauer was reported to have ripped the phone out of her hands, according to Police Sgt. Rye Suhrke in the release.

She was then able to escape, apparently because Rauer was upset and distracted by her call.

“The victim was able to reach 911 with her personal cellphone and advised that she was able to lock herself in a room and that Rauer appeared to have fled out of the store to his waiting pickup truck,” Surhke said.

Police surrounded Rauer’s truck and put down a spike strip as he attempted to leave. Negotiation attempts were unsuccesssful as Rauer was confrontational and refused to comply with police commands. He appeared to be reaching for items in his truck and preparing to ram his truck into police vehicles, the release stated.

With mall patrons walking nearby and vehicles driving in the area, police tried to avert the crisis by shooting a projectile device into the rear window. A short time later Rauer opened his front door and appeared to be surrendering, then jumped back into the truck and attempted to accelerate toward a police patrol vehicle. Officers were able to pull him from the truck and stop it, Surhke said.

Rauer fought with officers and attempted to flee. He was shot with a stun gun and taken into custody, according to the release.

Rauer was evaluated by Petaluma paramedics, then transported to a nearby hospital to be medically cleared. He was then booked into Sonoma County Jail.

You can reach Staff Writer Kathleen Coates at kathleen.coates@pressdemocrat.com. or 707-521-5209.