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December 12, 2008 UPDATEGood to hear that this tragedy has created community outrage. Hopefully, the investigation and its outcome will not be swept under the political carpet. Thu 12/11 6 PM
Coroner releases shooting report
By David Bolling INDEX-TRIBUNE EDITOR sourceWhen officers from the Sonoma Police Department and the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department responded to a 9-1-1 call on Dec. 6, they couldn't know that in a matter of minutes 37-year-old Craig Von Dohlen would die in a hail of their bullets and that they would then become the objects of public outcry.
Von Dohlen had confronted family members that morning, including his 15-year-old son and his 66-year-old father, with the news that he had some terrible secret he couldn't share that would bring "shame on the family name" and that the only recourse was suicide. He spoke about "not going back to prison," and "they will have to shoot me," and told his son "the sheriffs are coming today. If they don't kill me I'm going to kill myself." He also told his father, "Dad, you've got like 50 seconds and I will blow your head off and then they will kill me." All those statements were captured over the telephone after the father called 9-1-1.
His father said Craig had never been to prison, although he had once spent two weeks in county jail on a minor marijuana charge. He said he had no idea what had happened to his son. But when law enforcement officers arrived at the Von Dohlen house, the violence erupted. The four as yet unidentified officers are currently on paid administrative leave while the Santa Rosa Police Department and the Sonoma County District Attorney's office conduct a separate investigation of the shooting, in compliance with the Fatal Incident Protocol followed by local law enforcement.
The shooting occurred when Craig Von Dohlen charged out of his parent's house, past his father, who said he was pleading with officers not to shoot, and straight at the officers, carrying what was believed to be a loaded, single-shot .22 rifle. In an account given by John Von Dohlen Sr., Craig's father, the officers waited until Craig was no more then six to 10 feet away and then opened fire with shotguns. Following the first fusillade, said the senior Von Dohlen, one officer stepped into a crouch and fired four shots directly into his son's body.
An autopsy report released by the Sonoma County Coroner on Tuesday, Dec. 9, revealed that Craig Von Dohlen had been struck with "multiple gunshot and shotgun wounds." The examining pathologist reported Von Dohlen received 10 gunshot injuries, two of which were "grazing" wounds. The majority of the wounds, the report said, were to Von Dohlen's lower torso, hip and thigh area. The one clearly fatal wound identified in the report was a "penetrating gunshot wound" to the head.
Public outcry at the shooting, in the form of letters and e-mails to the Index-Tribune and the I-T's Web site, www.sonomanews.com, followed quickly in the wake of statements made by John Von Dohlen Sr. that the shooting was excessive and that the shots fired by the officer with the hand gun were unnecessary.
The coroner's report refers to the head wound as being from a "gunshot" but does not make precisely clear whether that term is definitive, meaning the shot came from a hand gun, not a shotgun. Holes in a porch post and the wall of the house appear to be made by large caliber slugs indicative of a "riot" shotgun.
Press inquiries about the shooting are being handled by the Santa Rosa Police Department's Public Affairs Officer who said on Monday that her department's investigation could take "weeks to months."
Sheriff's Capt. Dave Edmonds said Monday, "The deputies were put in a terrible situation with a homicidal suspect. I think the threat to his father was very credible."
Edmonds added, "This was an exceedingly volatile incident. There was every reason to believe the suspect was very serious. It was the decedent who took on the deputies. I'm really thankful none of our staff was hurt. I'm hugely thankful the father wasn't hurt. We have to let the investigation continue."
John Von Dohlen Sr. was feet behind his son when the gunfire tore into Craig and barely escaped being shot himself. He remains deeply troubled by the level of force used against his son. He knows, he said, that Craig was suicidal, determined to die and that he provoked the officers. But, he concludes, "They shot him four times when he was down. It's not right."
READER COMMENT:
strum52@gmail.com wrote on Dec 11, 2008 8:00 PM:
" Maybe Sgt Edmonds should wait till after the investigation findings are released before conjecturing. Of course it's obviously a volatile situation. And the only result of pointing a gun at law enforcement [or in NY a wallet] will be to get shot multiple times. Whatever happened to 'disabling' and restraining.? None of us were there and likely none of us has had a rifle wielding man run at us.. I know a few of our Deputies personally and this is very much an abherration. This kind of confrontation happens little here. Perhaps over reaction equates with inexperience. A tragedy for a father to watch his son shot to death, one way or another. "
December 10, 2008 UPDATEThe police/sheriff shot him with TEN BULLETS! Why so many shots were fired. Mr. Von Dohlen states that after the initial gunshot wounds felled this son, another officer pulled out a pistol and fired another four shots. OUTRAGEOUS!
Sonoma man involved in fatal police shooting
Jody Purdom Special to the Sun sourceA 37-year-old Sonoma man is slain after a confrontation with police escalated into gunfire Saturday afternoon. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Dispatch Center had received an emergency 911-phone call from a resident of 245 Napa Road, just east of Broadway, in Sonoma at 12:14 p.m. The adult male caller asked for urgent help to deal with his 37-year-old son, Craig Von Dohlen, at that residence, who had allegedly threatened to kill the man and then himself with a loaded .22 caliber rifle.
This 911 call was recorded, and the phone line remained open throughout the incident as it unfolded. Through questioning, the reporting party explained that Von Dohlen had warned that he was not going to go back to prison. The reporting party said that Von Dohlen was “high on drugs” and the reporting party couldn’t communicate with him. More recently, family members were adamant that Von Dohlen was not on drugs at the time of the incident but are awaiting toxicology reports for confirmation.
Described as a gentle and loving man who wouldn’t hurt anyone, Von Dohlen’s family is in shock over the incident. Paulette Nolan, Von Dohlen’s ex-financee described him as a wonderful man with a solid heart. She understood Von Dohlen’s addiction issues but was quick to point out his loving family and solid support network.
Sheriff’s Dispatchers responded with several units to the scene. As personnel were responding the suspect made numerous threatening statements including:
“I will shoot them right now. I’m not going back to prison, they will have to shoot me”.
“I’m not going to shoot myself, they’re going to have to kill me”.
“I’m not going to kill anybody, but I’m gonna shoot cops because I don’t give a f___, they’re gonna have to f__in’ shoot me”.
When interviewed, family members recall Von Dohlen stating, “I’ve done something that has brought shame to the Von Dohlen name. I have to do it this way. It’s the only way to protect my family. I have to let them shoot me.” What that was remains a mystery.
Such behavior often precedes a so-called “blue suicide,” a slang term that describes a distressed party who engages the “boys in blue” in such a manner as to engender lethal harm to him- or herself.
Vondohlen sounded extremely agitated as the reporting party continued to try to reason with him. At one point, Vohndohlen replied, “Dad you’ve got like 50 seconds and I will blow your head off and then they will kill me”. As the heated dialogue continued Vondohlen remained tense, stating things such as “I will go to hell, I’ve got no choice”, and “all I’ve got to do is pull the trigger and it will work”.
Two Deputy Sheriffs and two Sonoma Police Officers arrived in the area within approximately five minutes, parking away from the residence to make a safe approach and taking about another five minutes to get to the driveway of the residence on foot.
The dispatch tape records the reporting party yelling to the approaching Deputies that his son is in the back yard. Soon after, Von Dohlen is heard aggressively screaming at the responding Deputies and the Deputies are heard loudly shouting commands back to him. Soon after multiple gunshots are heard. Von Dohlen was struck by gunfire. None of the responding Deputies or officers were injured.
Von Dohlen was transported by ambulance to the Sonoma Valley Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Neighbor Larry Brady who lives on Fifth Street East, directly across the street from the field where the ambulance, REACH and Sheriff’s helicopters landed, refutes this information. According to his timeline, the ambulance transporting Von Dohlen did not leave the scene for Sonoma Valley Hospital for quite some time, conflicting with earlier reports that the ambulance went straight from the Von Dohlen home to the hospital.
The Sonoma County Law Enforcement Chiefs of Police Fatal Incident Protocol was invoked, as standard procedure. The Santa Rosa Police Department accepted the lead investigative role, with the assistance from the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office.
The identities of the deputies and officers involved have not been released. In accordance with policy, all four employees have been placed on administrative leave.
John Von Dolhen Sr., his wife Kathy and son John are distraught over the incident. They are also angry over treatment they received from law enforcement officials.
After the shooting, Von Dohlen was unable to be with his fallen son, instead handcuffed and placed in a squad car. According to the couple, Mrs. Von Dohlen, called home from her job at Broadway Market, was placed in a separate squad car from her husband and both were left sitting for a considerable amount of time before being released and informed then that their son was dead.
The family also cannot understand why so many shots were fired. Von Dohlen states that after the initial gunshot wounds felled this son, another officer pulled out a pistol and fired another four shots.
“Yesterday’s incident just outside Sonoma’s City Limits was tragic for the family and friends of the deceased and those public safety officers present,” commented Sonoma Mayor Ken Brown via email Sunday morning. “There will be a complete investigation by an outside agency, in this case the Santa Rosa Police force. Details will be forthcoming as the investigation continues.”
Some information for this story was provided by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department.
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Dec 9, 2008 9:56 pm US/PacificAutopsy Performed On Man Shot By Sonoma DeputiesCBS 5 CrimeWatchsourceSONOMA (BCN) ― The 37-year-old Sonoma man who was fatally shot by Sonoma County sheriff's deputies Saturday suffered 10 gunshot injuries including a fatal penetrating wound to the head, according to an autopsy Tuesday.Sonoma County coroner's Sgt. Mitch Mana said the preliminary cause of death was multiple gunshot and shotgun wounds.
Craig Von Dohlen was shot outside his father's residence at 245 Napa Road in Sonoma after his father called 911 around 12:15 p.m. asking for urgent help because his son was on drugs and was threatening to shoot a .22 caliber rifle, according to the sheriff's office.The father stayed on the line while sheriff's deputies were responding and the phone conversation recorded Von Dohlen saying threatening statements such as "I will shoot them right now. I am not going back to prison. They will have to shoot me," officials said.
Two sheriff's deputies and two Sonoma police officers arrived in the area within about five minutes and were told by the father that Von Dohlen was in the backyard.As they approached, Von Dohlen started screaming, which was followed by multiple gunshots, officials said.He was transported to Sonoma Valley Hospital where he was pronounced dead.Coroner's Sgt. Mitch Mana said the majority of injuries to Von Dohlen were to the lower torso, hip and thigh area. Two of the 10 wounds were grazing wounds, Mana said."The injuries were consistent with bullets and/or shotgun charges being fired from law enforcement issued pistols and shotguns," Mana said.Minor scrapes, some in the process of healing, also were found on Von Dohlen's body, Mana said.No one else was injured.The four law enforcement employees involved were placed on administrative leave.The Santa Rosa Police Department is the lead investigative agency in the case.
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December 9. 2008 UPDATEMon 12/8 11 PM
'They're going to have to kill me'
Deputies kill man, father irate
By David Bolling - INDEX-TRIBUNE EDITOR
source
JOHN VON DOHLEN JR., left, hugs his father, John Von Dohlen Sr. on the porch Monday morning. Photo by Robbi Pengelly/Index-Tribune
Craig Von Dohlen, a 37-year-old Sonoma man was shot and killed in his driveway by sheriff's deputies Saturday afternoon during a confrontation precipitated by a 9-1-1 suicide call.
Four deputies - two from the Sonoma Police Department and two from the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department Valley substation - confronted Von Dohlen, who was moving toward them carrying a rifle after telling family members he was going to die. The shooting took place at approximately 12:25 p.m. in the 200 block of Napa Road after police received a 9-1-1 call from John Von Dohlen Sr., Craig's father, who told dispatch that his son had a gun and was threatening suicide. After the elder Von Dohlen hung up to intervene with this son, the 9-1-1 dispatcher called back and told him to leave the line open.
That allowed dispatch and responding officers to hear what was happening in the residence. A transcript of the call released by the sheriff's department reveals the younger Von Dohlen making numerous threatening statements such as: "I will shoot them right now. I'm not going back to prison, they will have to shoot me;"
"I'm not going to shoot myself, they're going to have to kill me."
"I'm not going to kill anybody, but I'm gonna shoot cops because I don't give a f***, they're gonna have to f***in' shoot me." At one point, Craig Von Dohlen can be heard saying, "Dad you've got like 50 seconds and I will blow your head off and then they will kill me." As the dialogue continued Craig Von Dohlen said, "I will go to hell, I've got no choice ... all I've got to do is pull the trigger and it will work."
A grieving John Von Dohlen Sr., told the Index-Tribune his son had been perfectly normal that morning. "We don't know what happened," he said. "I got up this morning and everything was fine."
Craig Von Dohlen's brother John Jr. said he visited the family house that morning at about 9 a.m. and woke Craig up. "We smoked a cigarette together, I asked what he wanted for Christmas. Nothing was wrong, nothing."
But sometime after John Von Dohlen Jr. left the house, Craig's emotions took a violent turn. Craig Von Dohlen told his 15-year-old son, Kyle, that he should leave the house immediately, telling him, according to John Von Dohlen Jr., "The sheriffs are coming today. If they don't kill me I'm going to kill myself."
According to John Sr., he was cleaning ashes from the living room fireplace when he heard Craig shouting at Kyle. Craig then appeared in the doorway with a rifle. "I told him, what are you doing with that thing? He said, don't worry, it's not grandpa's (gun). It was an old-one-shot .22 rifle. It probably didn't work."
"He told me, if I tried to stop him, 'I will shoot you Dad.' He didn't want anyone to try to stop him. I told him it can't be as bad as all that. He said, 'No, it's too late. It's done with, I can't talk about it, I don't want anybody to know about it.' We don't have any idea what it was, what he was talking about."
At that point, according to John Sr., Kyle left the house after saying to his father, "If you're going to do what you're going to do, just go do it. I'll see you in heaven."
For John Sr., the additional tragedy of that remark was that Craig "was the type of person that family came first, family was everything."
From that point forward events accelerated and collided with frightening speed and ferocity.
According to his father, Craig threatened to kill him if he tried to stop him. At one point in the argument, Craig disappeared outside the home in the family's large country compound.
John Sr. went outside looking for him and then saw law enforcement officers by the hedge bordering his driveway at Napa Road. The
officers, said John Sr., motioned for him to come to them. John Sr. motioned back for them to come to him, to help subdue his son.
At that point, Craig came crashing out the front door, past his father and toward the four officers. John Sr. ran after his son, pleading, he said, with officers not to shoot. He said his son was holding the rifle with the barrel pointed at the officers, who waited, he said, until Craig was only some six feet away from them. Then, John Von Dohlen Sr. said, at least three of the four opened fire with shotguns. Three slugs tore through the house, one ironically drilled through a photo of Kyle hanging on an opposite wall, before passing in to another room.
But most of the shots seemed to be on target, striking Craig in the torso. John Von Dohlen Sr. claims his son was mortally wounded and falling or already on the ground when one of the officers went into a crouch and fired four more rounds into his body with a hand gun.
John Von Dohlen Sr. called it "A senseless killing," and angrily charged that officers would not let him hold his dying son as he lay bleeding in the driveway.
While he pleaded with them, said John Von Dohlen Sr., deputies forced him out of the yard and one of them applied an arm lock so painful he thought the arm would break.
A deputy eventually handcuffed the father and placed him in a squad car as the investigation unfolded. He said his wife Cathy - Craig's mother - arrived from her job at the nearby Broadway Market but the two weren't allowed to console each other for more than an hour.
John Von Dohlen Sr., also said his son had never been in prison, but that "10 or 15 years ago" he had been sentenced to a short term in Sonoma County jail on a marijuana charge. He said he believed Craig had been drug free for some time and was not high on anything that morning.
Sonoma Sheriff Bill Cogbill acknowledged at the scene that the shooting "could be" a so-called "suicide-by-police," but said it was too early to confirm that.
Witnesses said they heard between 10 and 12 shots fired during the incident. Cogbill could not give a precise count and said, as with all officer-involved shootings, that a complete investigation will be conducted by another agency, in this case the Santa Rosa Police Department, along with the Sonoma County District Attorney's office.
Sgt. Lisa Banayat, public affairs officer for the Santa Rosa Police Department, said Monday that her department's investigation into the shooting could take weeks.
She said an autopsy on Craig Von Dohlen was due to be completed Monday, but that lab work could "take weeks or months." She could offer no further comments on the shooting or on John Von Dohlen Sr.'s allegations of excessive force until evidence is carefully weighed and a complete report is ready.
For a complete chronology of the tragedy and more details on the case, stay with www.sonomanews.com.
Reader CommentsThe following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of
http://www.sonomanews.com/.
johnthomasgibson@roadrunner.com wrote on Dec 9, 2008 1:45 AM:
" Craig was a fellow class-mate of mine, and I considered him to be a friend. I am saddened for his family and friends, and especially for his father...obviously he did not mean for his son to get shot and killed when he called 911 for help.
However, when I heard reports of what had transpired last Saturday afternoon, it made me question whether or not Sonoma County even has a trained negotiator/counselor on the police force who is capable of handling crisis-type situations...weilding a bull-horn (if anything) vs a shotgun and a .45 calibur semi-auto handgun with a 15 round clip and having an itchy finger.
Growing up, we didn't call it 'Slow-noma' without good reason, and from what I personally recall from the local law enforcement...they were easily excited, to say the least.
I recall when I was a teen-ager, former Deputy Sheriff, Vince Sloan, grabbed my older brother Jim (about 16 at the time) by the throat, up off of the ground, and slammed him against the hood of his car, pinning him there by the neck, for Jim daring to ask him, 'Excuse me sir, don't you need a warrant for that?' That was just after Sloan and his side-kick (who he obviously wanted to impress) had pulled over our friend near to where we were standing and simply commanded her out of her car in front of us and began to rifle through her personal property. He later said that he saw her drinking a beer and was looking for the can in her vehicle, although he never produced the evidence to support his contention.
My point is that I fear that the 'Vince Sloan' mentality was passed down through the local ranks and the years and has manifested once again in this horrible tragedy that culminated in the killing of a local Sonoman who was obviously mentally distraught.
Within an hour of the occurance, I had several calls from people who were in the local vicinity to where the shooting took place call me and say basically the same thing; that Craig never fired a shot and that officers on the scene kept shooting him even after he lay on the ground. If that is true, Allah help you 'servents of the people' who possess a license to kill AND are above the law, morally and judicially as evidenced when you repetedly pulled the trigger on a downed man, assuming that's the way things transpired.
Ask yourselves, Mr. law-enforcement shooters that day, if you would have done anything differently if Craig had been your son, your dad, or your friend. Would you have tried to reason with him? I was 1000 miles away when this event took place, but I can't help but think that things could have been different when it sounded like during the recorded 911 call, there wasn't much delay at all in the time it took between the officers arriving at his dad's house, and multiple shots being fired. That just sounds like a botched, rushed, and sloppy job to me, without much regard for human life.
The main message I would like to convey here is that my heart goes out to all of Craig's family, John Jr., his parents, and all of his friends who knew and loved him. Such a needless tragedy and at such a young age.
Sonoma used to be such a small sleepy town with one stop-light at 5th St. West and Hwy 12 (when I moved there), and now it seems like it's gone to crap with murder, drugs, gangs, vandalism, thievery, traffic, and general mayhem. Someone please tell me I'm wrong and why...I would really like to like Sonoma again; maybe even to the point that I would consider returning someday. "
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ORGINAL POST
Once again, the police are called to help a distraught family whose son is threatening suicide and what happens? The man is murdered with 10-12 bullets and the horrified father is taken into custody probably due to his outrage of watching these supposed 'peace' officers kill his troubled son! Yes, the man had a rifle but why not ONE shot to the leg or better yet, some suicide intervenion dialog? What are our police being taught these days: shoot to kill no matter what? VERY tragic and quite heartbreaking. We pray that the Lord Jesus Christ somehow brings healing to the Von Dohlen family.
Deputies confer in the middle of Napa Road shortly after the shooting. David Bolling/Index-Tribune
Sonoma man killed in police confrontationNapa Road shooting
By David Bolling Index-Tribune Editor
sourceAn armed Sonoma man was shot and killed by sheriff's deputies Saturday afternoon during a confrontation outside a residence on Napa Road.
The shooting took place at approximately 12:30 p.m. after deputies from the sheriff's Sonoma Valley substation and the Sonoma Police Department responded to a call reporting that a man with a gun had said he was going to commit suicide. Four deputies parked their patrol cars down the street from the victim's address in the 200 block of Napa Road and approached the house on foot.
According to Sonoma County Sheriff Bill Cogbill, the victim, identified as 37-year-old Craig Vondohlen, then exited the house and confronted the officers with a .22 caliber rifle. Cogbill said it is still unclear who fired first but that "right now we believe" more than one officer fired at the man, who was mortally wounded. Vondohlen was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. Cogbill acknowledged that the shooting "could be" a so-called "suicide-by-police," but said it was too early to confirm that.
According to witnesses, Vondohlen was living at the house with his father and stepmother and may have been distraught. The visibly upset father was briefly taken into custody and placed in a squad car after the shooting, but was released shortly afterwards and was not charged.
Witnesses said they heard between 10 and 12 shots fired during the incident. Cogbill could not give a precise count and said, as with all officer-involved shootings, that a complete investigation will be conducted by another agency, in this case the Santa Rosa Police Department, along with the Sonoma County District Attorney's office. Napa Road was closed between Broadway and Fifth Street East after the shooting. Because another agency was required to take over the investigation and some of the evidence was still in the street, a police presence at the site was likely to remain longer than would normally be the case. A knot of police officers swarmed the scene and at various times as many as 15 patrol cars were present while Henry 1, the sheriff's helicopter, circled overhead for more than half an hour. A sheriff's department chaplain also arrived on scene and offered counseling to a grieving family member who arrived some time after the shooting.
Further details will be available at www.sonomanews.com by Sunday morning.
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December 8, 2008 UPDATE
Rewritten story by the Sonoma Index Tribune along with reader comments followed by the father's account from the Press Democrat and an SF Gate article:
An armed Sonoma man was shot and killed by sheriff's deputies Saturday afternoon during a confrontation outside a residence on Napa Road.
The shooting took place at approximately 12:30 pm after deputies from the sheriff's Sonoma Valley substation and the Sonoma Police Department responded to a call reporting that a man with a gun had said he was going to commit suicide. Four deputies parked their patrol cars down the street from the victim's address in the 200 block of Napa Road and approached the house on foot.
According to Sonoma County Sheriff Bill Cogbill, the victim, identified as 37-year-old Craig Vondohlen, then exited the house and confronted the officers with a .22 caliber rifle. Cogbill said it is still unclear who fired first but that "right now we believe" more than one officer fired at the man, who was mortally wounded. Vondohlen was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. According to Capt. Dave Edmonds of the Sonoma County sheriff's Department, adult male called 9-1-1 and asked for urgent help to deal with his son, Craig Vondohlen, at that residence. The 9-1-1 call was recorded, and the phone line remained open throughout the incident as it unfolded.
Edmonds said the reporting party advised that Vondohlen had a loaded .22 caliber rifle and was threatening to kill the reporting party and commit suicide. Through questioning, the reporting party explained that Vondohlen had warned that he was not going to go back to prison. The elder Vondohlen said his son was "high on drugs" and that he couldn't communicate with him.
Sheriff's dispatchers sent several units to the scene. As personnel were responding Vondohlen made numerous threatening statements such as: "I will shoot them right now. I'm not going back to prison, they will have to shoot me;" "I'm not going to shoot myself, they're going to have to kill me;" "I'm not going to kill anybody, but I'm gonna shoot cops because I don't give a f***, they're gonna have to f***in' shoot me;" and According to Edmonds, Vondohlen sounded extremely agitated as the father continued to try to reason with him. At one point, Vohndohlen replied, "Dad you've got like 50 seconds and I will blow your head off and then they will kill me". As the dialogue continued Vondohlen remained tense, stating things such as "I will go to hell, I've got no choice", and "all I've got to do is pull the trigger and it will work."
Two deputy sheriffs and two Sonoma police officers arrived in the area within about five minutes, parking away from the residence to make a safe approach. It took them about another five minutes to get to the driveway of the residence on foot.
Edmonds said the dispatch tape records the elder Vondohlen yelling to the approaching deputies that his son is in the back yard. Soon after, Vondohlen is heard aggressively screaming at the responding deputies and the deputies are heard loudly shouting commands back to him. Soon after, multiple gunshots are heard and Vondohlen was struck by gunfire. None of the responding deputies or officers were injured.
Cogbill acknowledged that the shooting "could be" a so-called "suicide-by-police," but said it was too early to confirm that.
According to witnesses, the victim was living at the house with his father and stepmother and may have been distraught. The visibly upset father was briefly taken into custody and placed in a squad car after the shooting, but was released shortly afterwards and was not charged.
Witnesses said they heard between 10 and 12 shots fired during the incident. Cogbill could not give a precise count and said, as with all officer-involved shootings, that a complete investigation will be conducted by another agency, in this case the Santa Rosa Police Department, along with the Sonoma County District Attorney's office.
Napa Road was closed between Broadway and Fifth Street East after the shooting and was expected to remain closed until as late as 6 p.m. Because another agency was required to take over the investigation and some of the evidence was still in the street, a police presence at the site was likely to remain longer than would normally be the case. A knot of police officers swarmed the scene and at various times as many as 15 patrol cars were present while Henry 1, the sheriff's helicopter, c
ircled overhead for more than half an hour. A sheriff's department chaplain also arrived on scene and offered counseling to a grieving family member who arrived some time after the shooting.
Reader CommentsThe following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of
http://www.sonomanews.com/.
clearfield@juno.com wrote on Dec 7, 2008 8:31 AM:
" If he was going to commit suicide and not harm anybody else, why not leave him alone until he finished the job? All those cops and a helicopter leads me to believe that the cops and deputies have too much time on their hands and go out once more like gangbusters. Four of them firing means that everybody got a turn. And don't give me any crap because of this posting, I am retired from law enforcement and quite well aware of "red hots" in the business. "
onehappybaby@netzero.com wrote on Dec 7, 2008 10:02 AM:
" In response to clearfield@juno.com~ "Why not leave him alone until he finished the job?" Hmmm...I can think of several reasons. First of all, as law enforcement yourself, if someone calls for help (in this case the father) you are required to respond. He apparently was not only afraid for his son but OF his son. Reread for statements such as "Dad...I will blow your head off...".
Second, again REREAD for statements such as "I'm not going to shoot myself, they're going to have to kill me".
He wasn't simply going to commit suicide. He didn't want to pull the trigger on himself.
Can I just say~ Thank God you are retired from law enforcement because with your stated opinions you would put other people at risk. With this 'red hot' who knows what else he may have done? He threatened his life, his father's life, the lives of the police officers and sheriff's deputies....in his state of mind he could have done anything... "
rgnaylor@yahoo.com wrote on Dec 7, 2008 11:15 AM:
" I first want to say that, unless this is a total case of coverup, this situation does not seem to fall under the category of SO many others in this county, where the circumstances and actions of the officers can not in all reality rationally be defended. Here is what "onehappybaby" says:
"First of all, as law enforcement yourself, if someone calls for help (in this case the father) you are required to respond. "
This is correct. The first mistake made was by the father because, especially in this county, unless one was living in a cave, they would know that calling the police into a situation like this will almost certainly result in death.
And he would know more than most whether this was one of those situations, since he was there, and he knows his son. I do not wish to give him any unnecessary grief here if he is reading this, but this is an issue that affects the community as a whole, not just him and his son. I am sorry if I cause him any more grief than he already has, but he should have left the premises, and waited and hoped that the thing diffused itself. This choice could have resulted in innocents being injured or losing their life, but not necessarily. There could be an alternative in this county in the future. I'll get back to that. Next, there is this:
"He apparently was not only afraid for his son but OF his son."
Of course he's afraid for and of his son. This does not mean that circumstances had gotten to the point where he was in imminent danger, and where he could not have escaped. onehappy is assuming too much. After all, the father was able to call the police without violent reaction by his son. That would tend to indicate, along with other things in this story, that the son was actually hoping for a confrontation with the police. It should have not been given to him. onehappy then says:
"Reread for statements such as "Dad...I will blow your head off...". "
Why do these police defenders always rely on the possibility that others are not as smart or cunning as they are? They're always critizing anyone with an opinion that, "you don't know all the facts." That's right! And we never will because the police will not release them, usually for their own protection. Now, the son's quoted threat above occurred AFTER the police were brought into it, not before. Again, it would seem that the son wanted a violent confrontation with the police, because there couldn't have been a more effective way to make that happen. onehappy, in an attempt to win this argument, is twisting things to make it look like the son definitely wanted to kill his father, which I would argue is false. He wanted to be taken out by the cops. We're not even sure if the son even fired one bullet! Next:
"Second, again REREAD for statements such as "I'm not going to shoot myself, they're going to have to kill me". "
Which is further proof that he wanted to be killed by the police, who are more than willing to oblige. The first thing to do was NOT to call the police, because that, more times than not, would negate all other possiblities other than DEATH. Next:
"in his state of mind he could have done anything... ""
That excuse would and can be used EVERY SINGLE TIME an unstable person with a gun threatens suicide. EVERY SINGLE TIME. This is one of many reasons why calling the police should not have been the first thing tried.
clearfield was stating that the way the police operate, with their training, and willingness and ability to bring in the death squad, and all the frills like the helicopter, etc., in a moment's notice only makes more certain the inevitablity of death.
I alluded to another way to handle this where we do NOT involve the police. Even if, through nothing short of a miracle, this man's life was spared, they would have most certainly tased the BeJesus out of him. And I can tell you from personal experience that the taser, especially the way local law enforcement use it, is torture. Torture is a dangerous precedent for our nation to succumb to, especially on our own people. If they "forgot" their tasers, they would have certainly BEAT the crap out of him, if they didn't just shoot him without killing him. And he could have ended up free once more down the road, and carried a resentment for authorities that would have resulted in an even greater tragedy, but I digress.
There has been discussion here in Sonoma County of a mental health emergency response team to accompany officers to the scene of incidents such as this. But it has never come into fruition. I don't know why, but I suspect that the police would not allow the mental health professionals and trained mental health clients (who have been there) to confront dangerous situations by themselves, and the police presence would defeat the purpoe. I say we develop and train such teams, and then dispatch them without the involvement of the police. This may sound risky, but family members of the mentally ill could get together and organize such a response system, and the cops would not have to know about it. If these family members care about their loved ones, and I know in most cases they do, then they should try to do this, as opposed to the most certain spectre of death that cops in this county have shown with that overwhelming capability and willingness to kill and JUSTIFY. "
cutiepie95476@hotmail.com wrote on Dec 7, 2008 12:26 PM:
" the son is my cuzin and i called him and he is devistated "
runnindiva@hotmail.com wrote on Dec 7, 2008 6:43 PM:
" If you read the Press Democrat article it states more about the threats to kill others and the rifle, so maybe you comment posters should not be so harsh till you know the entire story, which none of us do yet. Clearfield, are you one of the ones that went out retired on a bogus injury that our tax dollars are now paying? Or did you not get hired when the Sheriff's Department took over, you seem a little bitter! "
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Grieving Sonoma father recounts shooting
Man whose rifle-wielding son was killed by deputies irate over his own detention
John Von Dohlen Jr. shovels gravel Sunday over bloodstains from his brother's shooting Saturday.
MARK ARONOFF / The Press Democrat
By NATHAN HALVERSON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
source Published: Monday, December 8, 2008 at 4:23 a.m.
Standing outside his bullet-riddled Sonoma house on Sunday, disheveled with grief and shock, John Von Dohlen described the tragic events that led sheriff's deputies to fatally shoot his suicidal son.
Von Dohlen, a longtime grocery store manager and Boy Scout leader in Sonoma County, also expressed outrage that immediately following the shooting Saturday afternoon, he was forcefully removed from the scene, handcuffed, and put in the back of a squad car away from his family and dying son.
"I couldn't even hold my son and say a final goodbye," Von Dohlen said. "I couldn't even tell my wife what happened."
Sonoma County sheriff's deputies arrived at the Von Dohlen home at 12:25 p.m. after Von Dohlen, 66, called 911 to report that his son, Craig, 37, was threatening to kill him and then commit suicide with a .22-caliber rifle, according to an initial sheriff's report.
Excerpts from the 911 call released in the report paint a chaotic and explosive scene:
"Dad, you've got like 50 seconds and I will blow your head off, and then they will kill me," said a voice identified by the sheriff's department as Craig Von Dohlen. "I'm not going to kill anybody, but I'm gonna shoot cops."
He made his intent to die apparent: "I'm not going to shoot myself, they're going to have to kill me."
Deputies gathered at the end of the gravel driveway on Napa Road about 10 minutes after receiving the 911 call, according to the report. An ambulance was staged nearby.
The four deputies took cover behind a hedge at the end of the driveway, John Von Dohlen said.
Von Dohlen said Sunday he shouted that his son was in the back yard and the deputies should come and help, but the officers remained at the end of the driveway. His son then emerged from the front door with rifle in hand and charged at the deputies positioned about 30 yards away.
The deputies can be heard shouting commands at Craig Von Dohlen on the 911 recording, according to the sheriff's report.
John Von Dohlen said he tried unsuccessfully to intercept and stop his son from charging the deputies.
Officers opened fire, unleashing a barrage of bullets that peppered the front of the house and sent Craig Von Dohlen crashing to the ground only about 10 yards from the deputies.
John Von Dohlen said deputies continued to fire after his son collapsed.
"I don't know how I didn't get hit," Von Dohlen said. "I was chasing him when they started shooting."
Bullets pierced the front of the house, which was unoccupied. One bullet passed through the exterior wall, then through an interior family room wall, and lodged in a bedroom closet wall.
Craig Von Dohlen's 15-year-old son, Kyle, had left about 30 minutes before the shooting after his father flew into a suicidal rage, the older Von Dohlen said.
"We don't know what set him off, if he received a phone call or some bad news," Von Dohlen said. "Something just snapped in him."
He was not on drugs and did not take medication for any mental illnesses, Von Dohlen said. However, an excerpt of the 911 tape quoted Von Dohlen as saying his son was "high on drugs," according to the sheriff's report.
Craig Von Dohlen had lived with his parents almost continuously since graduating from Sonoma Valley High School, his father said.
A neighbor described him as "kind of an introvert, quiet and reserved but a pleasant person. He did odd jobs for us and was always a very, very hard worker."
Whatever set him off that morning, Craig Von Dohlen appeared bent on a suicidal path.
"He wanted to die for some reason," his father said. "He was waiting for (the deputies) to come so he could charge them."
The whole episode lasted only about 30 minutes, John Von Dohlen said. He called 911 shortly after noticing his son walking along the side of the house in a red-faced rage with the rifle in his hand.
Two deputies and two officers from the Sonoma police force, which is staffed by the sheriff's department, were involved in the shooting. The four deputies, who were not identified, were placed on administrative leave, which is routine in officer-involved shootings.
Santa Rosa police and the District Attorney's Office are conducting an investigation in accordance with Sonoma County's protocol for such shootings.
Von Dohlen said that immediately after the shooting, officers prevented him from approaching his son, who lay dying on the driveway.
"To deny me the right to hold my son while he was dying showed me total disrespect," Von Dohlen said.
A spokeswoman for the Santa Rosa Police Department said deputies likely were securing the weapon and keeping the path clear for medical personnel who were staged nearby.
"I can understand the father wanted to be close to his son," Sgt. Lisa Banayat said. "But when they loaded him into the ambulance, he was not deceased . . . the paramedics needed to have access."
Craig Von Dohlen was pronounced dead after arriving at Sonoma Valley Hospital, according to the sheriff's report. But a neighbor said the ambulance did not speed off after Von Dohlen was loaded in, giving her the impression he was already presumed dead.
While medical personnel were attending to Von Dohlen in the driveway, John Von Dohlen said he began cursing and asking officers how many times they shot his son. He wanted to know why they didn't try to use a Taser on him.
"I was in a daze," he said. "I was hurting real bad."
Then, Von Dohlen said, an officer approached him, twisted his arm behind his back and led him to a squad car, where he was handcuffed and locked inside.
"He threatened me twice that he was going to break my arm," Von Dohlen said.
He said he was kept away from his wife, son and other family members for the next several hours.
"They wouldn't even tell me if Craig was alive or dead," he said. "I couldn't talk to my wife. I couldn't hug her. I couldn't do anything."
Von Dohlen said he plans to file a complaint against the officer who handcuffed him.
Banayat said the investigation is ongoing and information about why Von Dohlen was handcuffed was not available Sunday.
Craig Von Dohlen is the fourth person to be fatally shot by North Coast law enforcement officials this year and the fifth to die in an officer-involved incident this year.
Most recently, 52-year-old Guy James Fernandez died after being subdued with a stun gun by Rohnert Park public safety officers Nov. 9. He was believed to have been under the influence of methamphetamine.
Of those shot by firearms, two were believed to be suicidal or mentally ill.
In January, 24-year-old mental health patient Jesse Hamilton was shot and killed by Santa Rosa police as he approached them with a large kitchen knife.
In March, 31-year-old Heather Billings was shot and killed by Rohnert Park officers when she refused to drop a straight-edge razor blade she was carrying as she approached officers.
In July, 63-year-old David Vestal was shot and killed by a Clearlake police officer after he leveled a shotgun at officers responding to a fight at the mobile home park where he lived.
Since 2000, 25 people in Sonoma County have died in officer-involved incidents, 23 of them from gunshot wounds. The remaining two were shot with stun guns.
You can reach Staff Writer Nathan Halverson at 521-5494 or
nathan.halverson@pressdemocrat.com.
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From SF Gate:
Sonoma man dies in police-related shootingJill Tucker, Chronicle Staff Writer
source
Monday, December 8, 2008(12-07) 19:16 PST SONOMA -- A Sonoma man who vowed never to go back to prison was fatally shot during a police-related shooting Saturday, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department reported.
Craig Von Dohlen, 37, threatened to shoot police officers who responded to a 911 call, apparently from his father, at 12:14 p.m., according to sheriff's officials. The incident was captured on the 911 tape.
The caller told police that Von Dohlen had a loaded .22 caliber rifle and was threatening to kill others and commit suicide.
On the tape, Von Dohlen can be heard threatening the two deputy sheriffs and two Sonoma police officers dispatched to the home at 245 Napa Road.
The officers encountered Von Dohlen in the backyard of the home, and multiple shots can be heard on the tape, according to the sheriff's department.
Von Dohlen was struck by gunfire. Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Lisa Banayat confirmed Sunday that officers at the scene fired their weapons, but it wasn't clear whether their shots killed the man. She said she didn't know if Von Dohlen fired his weapon.
He was pronounced dead at Sonoma Valley Hospital. The deputies and officers involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave, following protocols for officer-involved shootings. An autopsy is scheduled for today.
E-mail Jill Tucker at
jtucker@sfchronicle.com.
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December 12, 2008 UPDATE
Police release report on Von Dohlen shooting--- end ---
December 8, 2009 UPDATEDeputies cleared in fatal Sonoma shootingBy JULIE JOHNSON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Monday, December 7, 2009 at 7:56 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, December 7, 2009 at 7:59 p.m. sourceSheriff’s deputies who shot and killed a man last year outside his Sonoma home were legally justified in using deadly force, the district attorney’s office announced Monday after a year-long review.
Related Links:Meth's deadly influence Sonoma man shot by deputies had 'toxic' level of meth Man reached for rifle as deputies kept shooting Autopsy shows Sonoma man shot 10 times by deputies Grieving Sonoma father recounts shooting Sheriff's deputies fatally shoot armed Sonoma man Craig Von Dohlen, 37, died from a gunshot wound after he was shot 10 times by four deputies on Dec. 6, 2008. At the time of his death his blood contained a “toxic amount” of methamphetamine, District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua said.
Passalacqua, who cleared the deputies in a statement issued late Monday, was not available to answer questions about the case.
“This was a tragic incident for both the Von Dohlen family and the deputies who were doing their jobs,” Passalacqua said in a statement. “This incident is another example of the lethal combination of using methamphetamine and being armed with a gun.”
At the time, family members said deputies shot Von Dohlen then approached him while he was on the ground and shot him again. The family hired a lawyer to investigate whether excessive force had been used, but whether they filed a lawsuit couldn’t be confirmed late Monday.
Von Dohlen’s father said Monday that he wasn’t surprised by the District Attorney’s finding.
“What good is it going to do? They’re all in it together anyway. I have nothing to say,” said his father, John Van Dohlen.
On the day of the shooting, Von Dohlen’s father called 911 to report that his son was suicidal and threatening him. Deputies found the son outside his home on Napa Road holding a rifle. Investigators said Von Dohlen threatened to shoot the deputies.
“I will shoot them right now. I’m not going back to prison, they will have to shoot me,” Von Dohlen was quoted as saying in partial transcripts of the 911 call released by the Sheriff’s office.
Two deputies ordered Von Dohlen to drop the gun and get down, according to the District Attorney’s report. Instead, he screamed and charged up the driveway toward the deputies, according to the report. Deputies fired their weapons when Von Dohlen pointed a .22-caliber rifle at them, the report said.
Methamphetamine likely fueled Von Dohlen’s rage, investigators said at the time. Pathology experts at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital found 0.24 milligrams of methamphetamine per liter of blood in Von Dohlen’s body, a toxic amount considered just below lethal.
The deputies involved — Kevin Mullnix, Ron Hansen, Elena Transue and Fletcher Skerritt — were briefly put on administrative leave at the time.
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