Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Resisting Arrest, Violation of Felony Probation
Petaluma Police Department Department
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Thursday September 22nd, 2022
Issued By: Sergeant Ryan Suhrke, Petaluma PD, (707) 778-4372, [email protected]
Incident: Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Resisting Arrest, Violation of Felony Probation
Report Number: 22-0004082
Occurred Date : September 22nd, 2022
Occurred Time: 12:28 PM
Location: 200 Block of W. Payran St./ Highway 101 in Cotati
Suspects: Matthew Bowe (29-year-old Petaluma Transient)
On 09/22/2022 at approximately 12:28 PM, the Petaluma Police Department Dispatch Center received a 911 call from Smart Code Compliance Officers who reported a male subject, who was later identified as Matthew Bowe, had attempted to assault them when they tried to remove him from nearby SMART Train tracks. During the altercation, Bowe picked up large rocks and began to throw them at SMART C.C. Officers, nearly striking them.
The rocks were large enough that they could have caused great bodily injury or death. Petaluma Traffic Officers were in the area and attempted to detain Bowe, but he fled after the officers gave commands for him to stop. An extensive search was conducted in the area where he was last seen, but he was not located.
Later in the day at approximately 4:24 PM, a Petaluma Officer spotted Bowe walking on northbound Highway 101 near West Sierra Drive in Cotati. The initial officers on scene identified themselves and gave commands to Bowe to stop, but he refused and began to yell expletives at the officers. He quickly ran up a nearby hill and ran in an eastbound direction towards the town of Cotati.
Officers pursued Bowe for nearly a half mile through elevated terrain, a residential neighborhood, and nearby creeks, where officers attempted to surround him and de-escalate the situation several times. Each time, he would challenge officers verbally and then continue to flee into nearby neighborhoods and eventually jumped into a creek-bed.
By this time, Bowe had shown a propensity for violence and was continually confrontational with officers. Officers had a general fear for the publics safety and their own and drew their Taser’s. Officers warned Bowe several times that a Taser would be used if he continued to be confrontational and flee, but he refused to comply. As Bowe attempted to flee towards a residence’s back yard, a Petaluma officer deployed his taser, which struck Bower, however it was not effective. Bowe continued to flee over a fence and was eventually stopped in the 100 block of Cervantes Drive in Cotati with the help from officers with the Cotati Police Department. Bowe continued to refuse to listen to the officers and was taken to the ground. Due to him continuing to physically fight with officers, he was placed into a WRAP restraint device.
The WRAP restraint device is utilized by several law enforcement agencies to humanely restrict the movements of combative suspects which ultimately place the suspect into a seated position. This device is used for the safety of both officers and the suspect.
The Petaluma Police Department Traffic Officer that originally saw Bowe, positively identified him as the subject who assaulted the SMART C.C. Officers. Bowe was determined to be on active felony Sonoma County Probation. Bowe was ultimately placed under arrest for:
245(a)(1) PC- Assault with a deadly weapon (not a firearm)
148(a)(1) PC- Resist or obstruct a Police Officer
1203.2(a) PC- Felony violation of probation
Bowe was transported to a nearby hospital where he was medically evaluated due to the taser deployment and released shortly after. He was then transported to the Sonoma County Jail where he was booked for the listed charges. No officers were hurt during the incident.
The initial incident involving the SMART C.C. Officers is still under investigation. If you witnessed or have any information, please contact Officer J. Van Riper at either [email protected] or 707-781-1210.
The Petaluma Police Department would like to thank the members of the Cotati Police Department for their assistance in taking the suspect into custody.
Address/Location
Petaluma Police Department
969 Petaluma Blvd N
Petaluma, CA 94952
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 707-778-4372
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