Minnesota man shot by deputy in stable condition, alert and walking

A 42-year-old Minnesota man was in stable condition at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital on Friday, a day after he was shot multiple times during a rapidly evolving confrontation with a Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy, police said.

Brad Baymon was struck at least three times in the upper body during the Thursday evening encounter, which followed an altercation with a Santa Rosa Plaza security guard who caught him stealing shoes at Macy’s, Santa Rosa Police Lt. Eric Litchfield said.

The shooting, which was captured on the deputy’s body camera, is being investigated by Santa Rosa police under a longstanding, countywide critical incident protocol aimed at providing for neutral review of events involving law enforcement use of force.

The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the case, as well, to ensure the deputy’s decision to shoot was justified. The deputy has not yet been identified.

The shooting occurred shortly before 6 p.m. Thursday on Ninth Street, between A and Morgan streets, where blood stains and chalk markings were all that remained of the disturbance by Friday.

Cindy Campos, who lives at Morgan and Ninth streets, said she heard the gunshots, then she heard the deputy bark orders at the suspect, who remained conscious: “Don’t touch the knife,” “Put down the weapon,” and “Keep your hands where I can see them.”

Authorities said violence began when Baymon reportedly pulled a knife on the security worker at Macy’s and tried to stab him in the face before fleeing the department store and the downtown mall.

A few minutes later, a deputy who had heard a “be on the lookout” advisory confronted Baymon on Ninth Street near Morgan Street, stopping his patrol car and ordering Baymon to halt.

Litchfield said the deputy recognized Baymon by the long leather overcoat or “duster” that mall security said their suspect was wearing despite the warm weather.

But Baymon reportedly refused to surrender and walked right past the deputy as he emerged from his patrol car, ignoring even a Taser shot into his back and a second shot to his chest

Authorities said the stun gun appeared to have no effect - likely, said Litchfield, because Baymon couldn’t feel the barbs through the tough leather of his coat.

“I don’t even know if he realized they were back there,” Litchfield said.

As the deputy tried to cut Baymon off, the suspect retreated toward the deputy’s patrol vehicle, where the driver’s side was left open, climbed behind the wheel and pulled the door shut behind him, authorities said.

As the deputy struggled against him and tried to get the door open, police say Baymon brandished a knife toward the deputy and tried to put the car into gear, prompting the officer to fire his service weapon six times through the window, the bullets shattering it as they struck Baymon, authorities said.

The deputy’s rifle was in the trunk of the patrol car, which was left running with the keys in the ignition, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Litchfield said the body camera footage shows that Baymon “definitely did arm himself,” though it’s difficult to see in the video from where on his body he retrieved the knife. Both the knife and the shoes that had been stolen from Macy’s were recovered, authorities said.

Litchfield said authorities took blood samples from Baymon but had not yet received results, and it was not clear if Baymon was under the influence of drugs or suffering a mental health crisis during the incident.

He said Baymon gave his current address as Minnesota, though he had lived in several states during his life. Litchfield said he didn’t know how long Baymon had been in Santa Rosa or where he had been staying. Baymon will be taken to the Sonoma County Jail once he is medically cleared, authorities said.

Jennielynn Holmes, chief program officer at Catholic Charities of Santa Rosa, said the agency’s Homeless Service Center on Morgan Street a few blocks from the shooting site has no records for Baymon, despite speculation in the neighborhood.

Neighbors said a phalanx of law enforcement and emergency medical personnel converged on the street in the minutes after the “pop, pop, pop” of gunfire. Baymon was treated at the scene and taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

In their large, old home at the corner or A and Morgan streets, members of the Wright family hit the floor when they heard the gunshots, just like “they’re trained,” mother April Wright said. ?She, herself, was at the mall getting a facial and waited for a ride home that never came, causing serious worry after five or 10 minutes, she said.

“I just started running home,” April Wright said.

Her 15-year-old daughter Alexis, who was home with other family members, “heard just the gunshots - five or six, pretty close together, so it’s hard to count.”

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 707-521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.