A man who appeared to be holding a weapon was fatally shot by a Sonoma County Sheriff's Department deputy Friday morning following a standoff.
At approximately 8:22 a.m., Sonoma County Sheriff's Department deputies were dispatched to the 5200 block of Tre Monte Lane near Geyserville to investigate an involving a man who threw a rock through the window of a residence there.
Sheriff's spokesperson Sgt. Juan Valencia said initial information indicated multiple residents contacted the man, and he asked one of them to shoot him. The man then fled from the resident, fleeing in the resident's truck. He drove through and broke several cattle gates to flee the area.
Deputies searched the area and located the truck in the 5600 block of Tre Monte Lane. The man was no longer in the truck, but deputies were able to track the man into a wooded area east of the 5600 block of Thomas Road. Deputies learned the man stole at least one ATV-type vehicle.
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After more than an hour of searching for the suspect, deputies located him. He appeared to be holding a weapon. Deputies ordered him to drop the it, but he refused.
The man initially appeared to charge at one of the deputies, but stopped. After a standoff with multiple commands to drop the weapon, one deputy deployed his taser, but it appeared ineffective; the second deputy shot the man. They immediately began administering medical aid, and a paramedic was flown to the scene.
The shooting occurred at approximately 10:03 a.m. The man was pronounced dead at 10:29 a.m. Neither deputy was physically injured during the encounter with the man.
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The Sonoma County Sheriff's Department invoked the Sonoma County Critical Incident Protocol and requested the Santa Rosa Police Department and the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office to lead an independent investigation into the events that led to the man's death.
The Santa Rosa Police Department will release additional information regarding the investigation Saturday. The man's identity and involved deputies will be released next week.
The Sonoma County Sheriff's Department will release the names of the deputies involved and their tenure at the department within the guidelines of the Sonoma County Critical Incident Protocol. The Marin County Coroner's Office will conduct an autopsy next week.
The Sonoma County Sheriff's Department will conduct an independent administrative review to determine if deputies followed policies and procedures.
