At approximately 8:12 am, deputies were dispatched to the Hacienda Bridge area for a domestic-related incident inside a Grey 3500 Dodge truck. The reporting party said two people were possibly in a physical altercation. The truck was last seen heading west on River Road.
A deputy responding to investigate a possible domestic incident was flagged down by a community member in the 15600 block of River Road. The community member told the deputy he heard a female screaming, “Someone help me.” The screaming was coming from inside a home. The deputy knocked on the front door. A woman and man walked out of the home, and she immediately asked for help. The man was holding onto the woman. The deputy tried to separate the man from the woman, and a physical altercation ensued. A second deputy arrived and witnessed the physical altercation between the deputy and man. The second deputy used his taser to gain compliance and to stop the man from fighting them. The man continued physically resisting the deputies.
After the deputies placed the man in handcuffs, he had a medical emergency. Deputies began life-saving measures and requested emergency medical personnel. Medical personnel arrived and pronounced the man dead at the scene.
The Sheriff’s Office invoked the County’s critical incident protocol. The Santa Rosa Police Department is investigating the incident, and Marin County Coroner’s Office is conducting the death investigation. For all media inquiries, please call Santa Rosa Police Department Lieutenant Dan Marincik at (707) 543-3644 or [email protected]. The Sheriff’s Office will be doing an administrative review to determine if the deputies followed policies; any time force is used, the Sheriff’s Office takes it seriously. Our thoughts are with all those involved in this incident during this difficult time.
This is a preliminary press release. The Santa Rosa Police Department will release more information as it becomes available.
Prepared by: Sergeant Juan Valencia, Public Information Officer
Case No: 200815-005
Media Inquiries: 707-565-3941
