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July 24th, 2011Deputy fired five times at suspect, hitting him twice during confrontation at Santa Rosa home
June 27th, 2011By RANDI ROSSMANN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Monday, June 27, 2011 at 11:27 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, June 27, 2011 at 11:27 a.m.
A veteran Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy fired five times, hitting a man twice during a Friday confrontation outside of a southwest Santa Rosa home.
Sheriff’s officials Monday released the additional information but would not release the name of the deputy who shot the man.
“We’re still doing some intelligence work to make sure there is not going to be any threats” against the deputy from anyone associated with the suspect, said sheriff’s Lt. Dennis O’Leary.
Gary Pickard Jr., 27, of Santa Rosa remained hospitalized Monday and under guard, said O’Leary. He was shot in the abdomen and below his waist and was expected to survive.
Late last week local law enforcement agencies had received a countywide alert to be on the lookout for Pickard, who was wanted for several outstanding warrants. They were told that he could be armed and dangerous.
Deputies had been told Pickard had a handgun and that he’d been heard to say the gun was to “kill cops,” and that he threatened to shoot it out with police and then kill himself, O’Leary said.
The deputy spotted Pickard Friday afternoon driving on Stony Point Road.
He called for backup help but before anyone arrived Pickard pulled over on Todd Road and the deputy confronted him, O’Leary said.
Standing behind his open driver’s car door, Pickard reportedly made repeated movements to his waistband as if he was going to pull out a gun, O’Leary said.
Deputies found a gun in a container inside the SUV, in the back seat area.
O’Leary said the deputy involved had been with the Sheriff’s Department for at least 14 years. He remained on administrative leave, standard in cases of a deputy-involved shooting.
Sonoma County Stolen Lives 2000-2011
April 15th, 2011THE SILENCE MUST END!
No more secrets. We demand timely, full disclosure of information in all police killings. These are the names of those who died at the hands of Sonoma County law enforcement, since a 1999 recommendation from the U.S. Civil Rights Commission Advisory Commission for a CIVILIAN REVIEW BOARD:
1. Philip Medina, 48, January 17, 2000 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
2. James Curran, 51, March 19, 2000 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
3. Erin Colleen McDonald, 31, April 20, 2000 shot five times Windsor Police* Fuston/Howard
4. Todd Eugene Dieterle, 37, May, 2000 shot seven times SRJC Police
5. Robert Comacho, 35, May 5, 2000 shot Rohnert Park Police
6. Patrick McLoughlin, 19, October 23, 2001 gunfire exchange Petaluma Police
7. Luis Solaro Gonzalez, 23, February 28, 2002 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
8. Thomas John Connelly, 49, May 8, 2002 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
9. Serena Roxanne Case, 32, January 16, 2003 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
10. Keith Thompson Suite, 42, April 8, 2003 injured in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
11. Seth Micha Warde, 22, July 10, 2003 traffic stop CHP
12. Anthony Zakharoff, 49, July 27, 2003 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
13. Michael W. Behringh, 52, November 18, 2003 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
14. Joseph A. Peay, 35, September 18, 2004 shot 10 times Sheriff/CHP
15. Kenneth Hugh Duncan, 62, November 11, 2004 shot nine times Sonoma County Sheriff
16. April Hanlon 35, November 25, 2004 gunfire Sonoma County Sheriff
17. Terry Lee Grinner, Jr., 30, January 25, 2005 shot twice Rohnert Park Police
18. Carlos Casillas Fernandez, 31, July 16, 2005 tasered 6x Santa Rosa Police
19. James Anthony DeCosta, 72, October 1, 2005 shot 27 times Petaluma Police
20. James Richard Nace, 42, December 10, 2005 shot Sonoma County Sheriff
21. Moses McDowell, 29, November 6, 2006 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
22. Haki Thurston, 22, February 23, 2007 shot 27 times Santa Rosa SWAT
23. Jeremiah Chass, 16, March 12, 2007 shot 8 times Sonoma County Sheriff
24. Richard DeSantis, 30, April 9, 2007 shot twice Santa Rosa Police
25. Walter L. Heller, 55, April 22, 2007 tasered twice Petaluma Police
26. Luis Felipe Sanchez, 27, May 4, 2007 shot 21 times Sonoma County Sheriff
27. Richard Lamont Williamson, 54, June 17, 2007 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
28. Ryan George, 22, July 9, 2007 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
29. William Townsley, 46, September 24, 2007 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
30. James Marrufo, 48, December 1, 2007 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
31. Jesse Hamilton, 24, January 2, 2008 shot Santa Rosa Police
32. Samuel Castillo-Martinez, 36, March 13, 2008 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
33. Heather Smith-Billings, 31, March 16, 2008 shot Rohnert Park Police
34. Leonardo Pacheco, 39, April 21, 2008 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
35. Guy James Fernandez, 52, November 9, 2008 stun gun Rohnert Park Police
36. Craig Von Dohlen 37, December 7, 2008 shot Sonoma County Sheriff
37. Nathan B Vaughn, 39, December 20, 2008 tasered 3x Sonoma County Sheriff
38. Jon Gerald Moore, 44, September 18, 2009 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
39. Teresa Ellen Hagan, 49, January 21, 2010 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
40. Albert Mike Leday, Jr, 49, June 1, 2010 shot 3x Sonoma County Sheriff *Fuston
41. Nicodemus Sullivan, 24, October 29, 2010 shot at 42 times Sheriff and CHP
42. Brian Gittings, 44, December 8, 2010 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
43. William Jackson, 59, April 14, 2011 in custody Sonoma County Sheriff
here is a copy of this list in .doc format
Another In Custody Death From A Known Condition
April 15th, 2011originally published at: www.pressdemocrat.com
Sonoma County Jail inmate dies in custody
By GUY KOVNER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Thursday, April 14, 2011 at 3:00 a.m.
An inmate at the North County Detention Facility, a part of the Sonoma County Jail, was found in “medical distress” early Thursday and later pronounced dead at Kaiser Medical Center, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said.
William Jackson, 59, was being treated for a previously diagnosed medical condition, Lt. Dave House said in a press release. No other details of Jackson’s condition or cause of death were given.
Inmates in a jail dorm called for help about 6:45 a.m., and a corrections deputy immediately summoned medical staff and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation, House said.
Medical staff continued lifesaving measures until paramedics arrived. Jackson was taken by ambulance to Kaiser.
Maybe Rain Will Solve All Our Problems
December 20th, 2010originally published at: www.pressdemocrat.com
Rain dampens Petaluma DUI checkpoints
Published: Saturday, December 18, 2010 at 7:56 p.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, December 18, 2010 at 7:56 p.m.
Rain canceled one stage of a planned DUI checkpoint Friday, but law enforcement officers still tallied some arrests as part of a countywide anti-drunk driving effort, authorities said.
Officers patroled county roads Friday night and into Saturday morning and held a late-night checkpoint later at Petaluma Boulevard North at Oak Street.
A total of 10 arrests were were made on a night when two DUI-related accidents were reported, Petaluma Police Sgt. Ken Savano said.
The effort was part of the Avoid the 13 operation, so named because it involves all the county’s law enforcement agencies.
A large scale checkpoint planned for earlier Friday eveing was canceled due to heavy rain, Savano said.
Fewer fewer vehicles than usual passed through the Petaluma Boulevard checkpoint. Of the 121 drivers that were stopped, seven drivers were given field sobriety tests. One was over the legal 0.08 blood alcohol level limit.
– Jeremy Hay
Cops and City Won’t Pay For Killing Man
December 17th, 2010Santa Rosa police dropped from wrongful death lawsuit
By Kevin McCallum
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Thursday, December 16, 2010 at 7:29 p.m.
A federal court judge has dismissed the City of Santa Rosa and three police officers from a lawsuit filed by the family of a mentally ill man killed in 2008 after he approached officers with a butcher’s knife.
U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney agreed with the city that the family of 24-year-old Jesse Hamilton had failed to show the officers used excessive force during the January 2008 confrontation, or that the city failed to properly train its officers to deal with mentally ill subjects.
Telecare Corporation, which operated the group home where Hamilton was living, remains as a defendant in the suit.
“It’s a very tragic situation which any police officer never wants to have happen, but the court determined that the officers acted appropriately under circumstances that were presented to them,” said City Attorney Caroline Fowler.
But Hamilton’s family continues to believe officers should have tried harder to defuse the situation.
“I’m very disappointed because I do think it appears that the police reacted precipitously and that there could have been other ways to control the situation other than killing the kid,” said Hamilton’s grandfather, Bob Clement of Sebastopol.
Hamilton suffered from schizophrenia and had not taken his medication for several days prior to the confrontation.
The judge concluded that officers had every reason to fear for their safety and the safety of others when they confronted Hamilton at his group residence in downtown Santa Rosa.
An employee of Telecare Corporation called 9-1-1 reporting that a client “chasing other clients around with a butcher knife.” Officer Gregory Yaeger arrived and when he knocked on Hamilton door, Hamilton began screaming about “slashing,” the judge wrote.
Yaeger retreated TO the porch, was joined by two other officers and the three agreed to go back into the home to let an employee try to talk to Hamilton, the judge wrote.
But when the employee knocked on his door, Hamilton began yelling “You’re all going to burn” and came out of the room with the knife held above his head. He came toward the officers with the knife, yelling “slashing, slashing, slashing,” the judge wrote. When Hamilton did not obey their commands, Officer Yaeger fired his Taser and a second officer Michael Heiser, fired his weapon, striking Hamilton four times.
After Hamilton fell, a Taser was used on him again and he was handcuffed. He later died.
The family contended the force was excessive because Heiser didn’t wait to see if the Taser had an effect before firing his pistol. They claimed 9-1-1 recordings showed he began firing half a second after the Taser was used.
But the judge ruled it’s not excessive for an officer to use deadly force given that Hamilton was threatening and advancing toward officers with a knife in “an attack position,”
She also rejected the notion that the officers provoked a confrontation and instead should have waited for Hamilton to “decompress” and for a trained negotiator to arrive. The judge noted that officers didn’t know if there were other people in the home that Hamilton could have injured.
“Nobody wants that kind of thing to happen, but these are decisions that officers are forced to make in split seconds,” Fowler said.
Sonoma County District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua in May 2009 found the shooting to be justified.
The city struck an agreement with the family that it would not seek to recoup its $40,000 in court costs in exchange for the family’s agreement not to appeal the case, Fowler said.
She said the deal “seemed to be the sensitive thing to do.”
SRPD Chief and New Sheriff Have a Big Idea (that has been widely called for for nearly a decade)
December 15th, 2010originally published at: www.pressdemocrat.com
Santa Rosa may halt impounds for unlicensed drivers
Sonona County Sheriff-elect also will consider changing policy
By JULIE JOHNSON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 3:00 a.m.
Seizing unlicensed drivers’ vehicles may fall out of favor in Sonoma County, as it has in a growing number of Bay Area cites.
Last week San Jose joined police departments in Oakland, San Francisco and Berkeley in directing officers to avoid impounding vehicles.
The process has been questioned because it is time consuming, may fail to keep unlicensed drivers off the road and has been criticized for disproportionately effecting undocumented immigrants.
Leaders of the county’s two largest law enforcement agencies say they also would consider taking another look at state law.
“We are reconsidering it. We’re evaluating our policy,” Santa Rosa Police Chief Tom Schwedhelm said.
Schwedhelm said he met with division managers on Monday to review interpretations of the law that gives police the authority to impound vehicles. He also is reviewing Office of Traffic Safety data to gauge whether impounding cars has kept unlicensed drivers off the road, as it was intended to do.
“This is not going to be a month-long process. I hope to have some general direction by the end of the week,” Schwedhelm said. “I know this has a lot of interest in the community.”
Sonoma County Sheriff-elect Steve Freitas said he also is open to changing his office’s policy when he begins his term in January, if the law supports a new approach.
“Anytime something like this comes up when there’s a shift in law enforcement, it’s something we’ll look at as well,” Freitas said.
State law allows officers to impound unlicensed drivers’ vehicles for 30 days, but gives them discretion about what to do with the vehicles.
Impoundments can rack up fees reaching $2,000, including the cost of towing and storing the vehicle, and police administrative fees.
West County Supervisor Efren Carrillo said he hopes to begin working with Freitas in January on alternative ways to keep unlicensed drivers off the road that don’t involve confiscating vehicles.
“We impound cars for 30 days for unlicensed drivers who are not otherwise breaking the law,” Carrillo said. “As it stands, it’s rather unfair.”
Vehicle seizures have unfairly burdened poor immigrant families, said Rabbi George Gittleman of Congregation Shomrei Torah in Santa Rosa.
“It would be different if the economy of the country and Sonoma County didn’t rely on these workers, but it obviously does,” Gittleman said. “To punish them for something they can’t get doesn’t make sense.”
The San Francisco Police Department was the Bay Area’s first to change its policy about a year ago. Its officers are allowed let unlicensed drivers contact a licensed person to take the car, if that person can arrive within 20 minutes.
In November, Berkeley police officials said officers should now tow the vehicle but not impound it, which means a licensed driver could pick it up the next day.
Seizing vehicles also takes a lot of staff time, one reason agencies like San Jose’s police department has looked for other approaches.
San Jose’s new policy, still in the review process, would allow officers to use either approach.
State laws governing unlicensed drivers may conflict with Constitutional law that gives police the authority to confiscate vehicles only when there isn’t a safe place to park them, says Santa Rosa attorney Alicia Roman, who often can be seen warning drivers away from checkpoints.
“Even if it was law, the way they’re implementing it unfairly targets Latinos and causes undue hardship on them,” Roman said.
“They say they want a safer community, but the reality is, a lot of Latinos say they feel they can’t go to police stations to report any kind of crime.”
On Saturday, Santa Rosa police officers impounded 14 vehicles at a DUI checkpoint. Most were driven by unlicensed drivers, and at least one was driven by a person with a suspended or revoked license, said Sgt. Rich Celli, who runs the department’s traffic unit.
Two drunken drivers also were arrested, but their vehicles weren’t impounded, they were parked or released to a sober driver, he said.
In Sonoma County, law enforcement leaders will likely try to align their policies.
Members of the Sonoma County Law Enforcement Chiefs Association meet monthly to review policies and tactical issues. So far members of the group have supported current practices, Petaluma Police Chief Danny Fish said.
If an officer opted not to impound a vehicle and the driver was “involved in a collision a day later, an hour later, imagine that,” Fish said. People would ask why the officer didn’t prevent the crash.
“You’re darned if you do, and you’re darned if you don’t,” he said.
Schwedhelm said Santa Rosa must weigh the cost of staff time spent seizing vehicles against its effectiveness in keeping unlicensed drivers off the road.
He said the California Police Chiefs Association sent a memo to its members late Monday suggesting that the law could be interpreted in such a way that officers could avoid impounding cars, he said. Details about that recommendation weren’t available.
“If our goal is to change behavior, and if it takes an officer an hour and a half to change the behavior, and if you can get the same results by leaving (the car) parked, that’s the part that we’re analyzing,” Schwedhelm said.
Staff Writer Brett Wilkison contributed to this report.
Police Clash With Bar Patrons
December 15th, 2010originally published at: www.pressdemocrat.com
Petaluma bar patrons criticize police reaction to clash
By RANDI ROSSMANN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 8:33 a.m.
About 100 bar patrons faced off against dozens of police in a downtown Petaluma street early Tuesday in an angry confrontation that ended with arrests and injuries.
Some patrons questioned the actions of bar security personnel, who they say threatened people with a Taser, and of police, who they claim hit a man with a patrol car. One officer also suffered bite wounds from a police dog as the chaotic scene unfolded at 1:30 a.m. at The Rocks bar on Kentucky Street.
Police, however, say the crowd became unruly and threatening. A Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office lieutenant said Petaluma officers are investigating the incident with the patrol car as a possible intentional act of a man throwing himself at the vehicle.
The emotionally charged scene was captured by cell phone video cameras and posted on YouTube, bringing the promise of more scrutiny to the near-melee that began with a night of DJ music, drink and socializing.
“I’ve been to protests against wars, been in an intense riot situations in San Francisco . . . I’ve never seen anything like it coming from police officers,” said Anthony Pinatelli, who was working at the club helping produce the music.
“It was completely uncalled for,” said patron Julie Piccinini of Sebastopol. “I’ve never seen anything in my life like I saw last night. It didn’t even feel like we were in Sonoma County.”
But Dave Thurston, one of four owners of the bar, said police and his security crew behaved appropriately and that the crowd repeatedly antagonized them. “I almost felt like they wanted a dramatic scene,” he said of the crowd.
Thurston, who was outside when the ruckus took place, said, “I did not see any type of brutality or excessive force — in anything that I saw.”
Police on Tuesday said the show of force was necessary as officers entered a crowd of people, many of whom they believed to be drunk and threatening.
“Originally, we had only eight officers there with at least 100 people. So I don’t think our response was excessive,” Petaluma Police Lt. Tim Lyons said.
“Once our officers are trying to effect an arrest and they are surrounded by people trying to interfere, that’s when we called for assistance and requested outside agencies to come help us out.”
Twenty officers from Cotati, Rohnert Park, the CHP and sheriff’s office soon arrived at the scene.
The trouble apparently started between bar patron Timothy Traylor, 22, of Sebastopol and bar security staff members, who told police Traylor had climbed onto sound equipment and then punched a bouncer when they tried to oust him.
Pinatelli, who was working on the sound equipment, said Traylor had been dancing and got onto a speaker stand to dance. Bouncers pulled him off and held Traylor so tight he couldn’t breathe, causing him to thrash and struggle, Pinatelli said.
Bouncers then hustled the young man outside, followed by some of the man’s friends who were upset at what was happening, witnesses said.
At least one security employee pulled a Taser stun gun and turned it on, threatening the crowd, Pinatelli said.
“He was waving a Taser at all of us,” he said.
Police officers heard the sound of Tasers being used by bar staff, said Lyons, the Petaluma lieutenant. While some in the crowd said they thought the Tasers were used on people, police weren’t so sure.
“I think they had the Tasers go off for the noise of it, to try to deter them,” Lyons said.
As officers took Traylor into custody, his friends became upset at what they said was unnecessarily rough treatment of the young man.
“All of our friends got worked up,” Pinatelli said.
Friends in the crowd said Kathleen “Kat” Zanoline ran up to protest the action. Lyons said Zanoline, 22, tried to physically intervene and was told repeatedly to back away but refused.
Pinatelli disagreed. “She was just asking ‘what are you doing?’ They really roughed her up, slammed her into the car, threw her on the ground and put a knee into her back,” Pinatelli said.
She was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor resisting arrest. Traylor was arrested on suspicion of battery, resisting arrest and possessing a small amount of methamphetamine.
Patrol cars blocked the downtown streets as officers displayed batons, Tasers and pepper spray canisters and attempted to get the crowd to disperse.
Not everyone saw the police action as overbearing.
“There was a lot of posturing, a lot of guys cursing at police,” said Juan Curiel, a Napa resident who was at the bar.
He called some in the crowd “absolutely threatening to the officers.”
“It seemed like (police) were a little flustered, a little panicked. I don’t believe they were expecting the response from bar patrons they got,” Curiel said.
Officers formed a line and moved toward Western Avenue to force people to clear out. Some people were physically moved because they wouldn’t leave, Lyons said.
Nolan Moore, 23, of Sebastopol said he was leaving the scene when he was struck by a deputy’s patrol car that was backing up.
Petaluma police and a sheriff’s official said Deputy Scott Singleton had the emergency lights flashing on his car on Washington Street near Kentucky Street when he first passed through the intersection. The deputy told officials he’d then put the car into reverse, going about 1 mph, when the pedestrian walked into his path.
Moore, interviewed Tuesday, said he had started to cross Washington Street with the walk light when a patrol car with no siren or flashing lights passed him against a red light.
He said he turned not realizing the patrol car had started to back up. Pinatelli, Piccinini and others said Moore was thrown as far as 10 feet by the impact.
Sheriff’s Lt. Steve Brown said Singleton reported he saw no one when he passed through the crosswalk and saw no one when he reversed. “He heard a big slam and he went out and saw the guy lying in the street,” Brown said.
Singleton said in his report: “It appeared the subject had run into my car, striking the car and falling to the ground to make it appear I had struck him.”
Brown said the sheriff’s office has no plans to investigate the incident further. Petaluma police are investigating, Lyons said.
“They’re not calling it a vehicle accident — they’re investigating it as an intentional act on the part of the pedestrian,” Brown said.
Moore was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and released.
A Petaluma police officer bitten by a police dog was treated and released from Petaluma Valley Hospital. He was not identified.
Staff Writers Lori A. Carter and Jeremy Hay contributed to this story. You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com.
Man hit by patrol car, police officer bitten by dog in Petaluma bar fight
December 14th, 2010from: www.pressdemocrat.com
Man hit by patrol car, police officer bitten by dog in Petaluma bar fight
By RANDI ROSSMANN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 8:33 a.m.
More than two dozen police officers responded to a Petaluma bar in the early morning hours Tuesday where a crowd of about 100 people filled a downtown street and grew angry and confrontational as police tried to take control of the scene that ended with arrests and injuries.
Some patrons are now questioning the actions of bar security, who allegedly threatened patrons with a Taser, and police, who they claim hit a man with a patrol car. One officer also suffered bite wounds from a police dog as the chaotic scene unfolded at 1:30 a.m. at The Rocks bar on Kentucky Street.
Police, however, are questioning the actions of the crowd that pressed them as they arrived on the scene. A lieutenant with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said Petaluma officers are investigating the incident with the patrol car not as an accident, but as a possible intentional act of a man throwing himself at the patrol car.
The emotionally charged scene was captured by cell phone video cameras and posted on YouTube, bringing the promise of more scrutiny of the bar and police on a night that began with DJ music, drink and socializing.
“I’ve been to protests against wars, been in an intense riot situations in San Francisco… I’ve never seen anything like it coming from police officers,” said Anthony Pinatelli who was working at the club that night helping produce the music.
“It was completely uncalled for,” said patron Julie Piccinini of Sebastopol. “I’ve never seen anything in my life like I saw last night. It didn’t even feel like we were in Sonoma County last night.”
Police officials Tuesday said the show of force was necessary as officers entered a crowd of people, many of whom they believed to be drunk and threatening.
“Originally, we had only eight officers there with at least 100 people. So I don’t think our response was excessive,” Lt. Tim Lyons of the Petaluma Police Dept. said.
“Once our officers are trying to effect an arrest and they are surrounded by people trying to interfere, that’s when we called for assistance and requested outside agencies to come help us out.”
The trouble apparently started between bar patron Timothy Traylor, 22, of Sebastopol and security, who told police Traylor had climbed onto some sound equipment and punched a bouncer when they tried to oust him.
Pinatelli, who was working on the sound equipment, said Traylor had been dancing and got onto a speaker stand to dance.
Bouncers pulled him off and held Traylor so tight he couldn’t breath, causing him to thrash and struggle, Pinatelli said.
Bouncers then hustled the young man outside, followed by some of the man’s friends who were upset at what was happening, witnesses said.
At least one bouncer had pulled out a Taser stun gun and had turned it on, threatening the crowd, Pinatelli said.
“He was waving a Taser at all of us,” he said.
Arriving police officers heard the sound of Tasers used by bar staff, Lyons said. While some in the crowd said they thought the Tasers were used on people, police didn’t confirm that.
“I think they had the Tasers go off for the noise of it, to try to deter them,” Lyons said.
As officers took Traylor into custody, friends were upset at what they said was unnecessary rough treatment of the young man.
“All of our friends got worked up,” Pinatelli said.
Friends in the crowd said Kathleen “Kat” Zanoline ran up to protest the action.
Lyons said Zanoline, 22, tried to physically intervene, was told repeatedly to back away and she refused.
“She was just asking “what are you doing?’ They really roughed her up, slam her into the car, throw her on the ground and put a knee into her back,” Pinatelli said.
She was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor resisting arrest.
Traylor was arrested on suspicion of battery, resisting arrest and possessing a small amount of methamphetamine.
Twenty officers from Cotati, Rohnert Park, CHP and the Sheriff’s Office rushed to Petaluma.
Patrol cars from five agencies blocked the downtown streets as officers displayed batons, Tasers and pepper spray cannisters and attempted to get the crowd to disperse.
Not everyone saw the police action as overbearing.
“There was a lot of posturing, a lot of guys cursing at police,” said Juan Curiel, a Napa resident who was at the bar.
He called some in the crowd “absolutely threatening to the officers.”
“It seemed like (police) were a little flustered, a little panicked. I don’t believe they were expecting the response from bar patrons they got,” Curiel said.
Attempting to get people to leave, officers formed a line and moved toward Western Avenue to force people to clear out. Some people were physically moved because they wouldn’t leave, Lyons said.
Nolan Moore, 23, of Sebastopol said he was leaving the scene when he was struck by a deputy’s patrol car.
Petaluma police and a sheriff’s official said Deputy Scott Singleton had the emergency lights flashing on his car on Washington Street near Kentucky Street.
The deputy told officials he’d put the car into reverse, going about 1 mph, when the pedestrian walked into his path.
Moore, interviewed Tuesday, said he had started to cross Washington Street with the walking light when a patrol car passed him against a red light.
“… a cop with no siren and no flashing light, none of those were on, blows by me over the speed limit and slams on his brakes,” said Moore.
“I’m like whoa whoa,” he said, and waved at Pinatelli who was watching from across the street waiting for him.
He said he didn’t realize the patrol car had started to back up. “…I turn around and boom. I didn’t even see the car coming,” he said.
Pinatelli, Piccinini and others said Moore was thrown as far as 10 feet into the air from the impact.
Sheriff’s Lt. Steve Brown said Singleton reported he saw no one when he passed through the crosswalk and saw no one when he reversed.
“He heard a big slam and he went out and saw the guy lying in the street,” Brown said.
Singleton said in his report: “It appeared the subject had run into my car, striking the car and falling to the ground to make it appear I had struck him.”
Brown said the sheriff’s office has no plans to investigate the incident further. Petaluma police are investigating, Lyons said.
“They’re not calling it a vehicle accident – they’re investigating it as an intentional act on the part of the pedestrian,” Brown said.
“If that was a slow backup, I wouldn’t have flown 10 feet. I wouldn’t have gotten mid air and tumbled like a rag doll. I’m a lot to move,” Moore said, noting he weighs about 245 pounds.
He was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and tested for injuries and released.
A Petaluma police officer bitten by a police dog was treated and released from Petaluma Valley Hospital. He was not identified.
Sonoma Sheriff CSO Arrested in Drug Raid
December 11th, 2010originally published at: www.pressdemocrat.com
Sheriff’s employee arrested in big drug sweep
By SAM SCOTT
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Friday, December 10, 2010 at 6:06 p.m.
Last Modified: Friday, December 10, 2010 at 6:06 p.m.
Sonoma County Sheriff’s detectives directed simultaneous raids Thursday on eight sites throughout the county that are suspected of being part of an indoor pot-growing network.
The sweep netted 10 arrests, including one of the sheriff’s own employees — Jose Ruben Diaz, 34, a community services officer for the sheriff’s law enforcement division.
Diaz works in the town of Sonoma doing parking enforcement and animal control duties, said Capt. Matt McCaffrey, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.
The Santa Rosa resident faces felony drug and weapon charges. He was put on paid leave pending an internal investigation, McCaffrey said.
Others charged were Yarrow L. Kubrin, 37, Heather J. Kubrin, 41, Joel R. Tucker, 38, Brittany A. Tucker, 33, Robert Tucker, 64, all of Sebastopol; Melinda N. Petty, 33, David R. Marbain, 53, David R. Marbain Jr., 20, and Ruth E. Valdizon, 56, all of Santa Rosa.
Officers seized 835 marijuana plants, about 92 pounds of processed marijuana bud, eight firearms and more than $300,000 in assets, McCaffrey said.
McCaffrey said investigators were still piecing together the relationships between the suspects, some of whom were unknown to agents until they were arrested at the locations.
In addition to drug charges, detectives are also looking at allegations of money laundering, McCaffrey said.
“The marijuana business tends to be a cash business,” McCaffrey said. “People end up with large amounts of money; they need ways to either legitimize it or hide it.”
The raids included officers from Santa Rosa Police, Napa Special Investigations Bureau, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency and Sonoma deputies.
