Full Notification

 

Petaluma Police Department NEWS RELEASE

                                                                                                                                                           PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release                                                                                                                                                                     Thursday, September 7th, 2022
Issued By:
Sergeant Paul Gilman, Petaluma PD, 707.778.4372, email: [email protected]  
On 9/7/2022, Petaluma PD Dispatch received a report of a man who produced a knife during an argument and attempted to stab a construction worker who was building new houses in the Riverfront Housing Development. The man, later identified as Michael Thorne, threatened to “kill” the victim. He walked near construction trucks in the area and began to slash and stab at the tires, flattening one of the tires on the truck.
 
Officers arrived in the area and Thorne fled from them through the construction zone. Thorne was running between houses, and on at least three occasions, he entered a house under construction, failing to comply with officer’s commands. Thorne made his way to the eastern bank of the Petaluma River, and he was later located along the riverbank, concealed by foliage. When he was spotted, he again refused to comply with the commands of police on scene and jumped into the river. He started to swim to the west bank of the river when he observed Police Chief Ken Savano and members of the Investigations Unit who had responded to assist. Upon seeing more police resources, he turned and started to swim south towards Heritage Salvage. Petaluma Police requested assistance from Petaluma Fire Department and their watercraft.
 
After about 10 minutes of negotiating with Thorne, he swam back to the east bank of the Petaluma River where he was taken into custody without incident. He was positively identified as the suspect in the Assault with a Deadly Weapon pursuant to 245(a)1 PC, Brandishing a Weapon pursuant to 417(a)1 PC, and other misdemeanors. He was evaluated on scene by the Petaluma Fire Department and transported to Sonoma County Jail for the above listed charges.
 
This was the 8^th arrest for Michael Thorne since April of 2022. In August of 2022, Thorne was arrested for allegedly striking a man in the head with a 2-foot metal pipe causing a laceration requiring treatment at the hospital.