San Rafael Cop Fired for Brandishing Gun

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Michael Augustus, a 16-year veteran of the San Rafael Police Department, was fired May 17, following accusations that he pulled his service weapon on two men outside a Petaluma restaurant while off-duty.

Augustus was arrested by Petaluma cops on Dec. 31 after he and another man entered into a verbal altercation inside the Kabuki Restaurant. Accounts of the conflict vary – Augustus’s attorneys say he mistook a man for a criminal defendant, while others say he bumped a man intentionally – but what is a known known is that the scuffle spilled outside, where a shoving match ensued. Augustus upped the ante when he drew a .45 caliber pistol, and the other man ran away, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported.

Someone called police -- on-duty police, that is -- and Augustus was arrested a few blocks away with the weapon tucked into his waistband.

Augustus was charged with three felonies and placed on leave. His lawyers, including an attorney for the police union, say they will fight his termination and that he only drew his weapon in self-defense.

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