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Indybay Feature

"Petaluma Suspect Shot 27 Times"

by Karin (cherryglass2003 [at] yahoo.com)
The following story is quite lengthy, yet demands a response from the community. Rage and accountability can be expressed over the use of 42 rounds to murder a "suspect," yet I am looking for perhaps relating stories that reveal the reality of the police misconduct. Codes, similar stories and repercussions, personal comments would be greatly appreciated to strenghten the immediate community response to such actions. Thank you for your time!

Petaluma suspect shot 27 times
5 officers fired total of 42 rounds in 2 volleys at child molest suspect who pointed loaded gun at police

Saturday, October 8, 2005

By DEREK J. MOORE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT


Courtesy photo
James Decosta Suspect ignored police orders, raised gun a second time.
Zoom Photo | Buy Photo ?

A suspected child molester killed by Petaluma police last weekend was shot 27 times after he pointed a loaded handgun at officers, authorities said Friday.

Five officers fired 42 rounds, striking 72-year-old James Anthony Decosta over much of his body, including his head, neck and chest.

Petaluma Police Chief Steve Hood said the officers risked their own lives while standing down an armed fugitive.

He said the 42 shots were necessary to stop Decosta, who had led officers on a brief car chase last Saturday before pulling over in an industrial park.

Hood said officers began firing on Decosta when the ex-Marine got out of a car and pointed a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun at them.

When Decosta lowered the gun, Hood said, the officers stopped firing and shouted for him not to raise it again. Decosta ignored the order, raising the weapon a second time, prompting more gunfire from the officers, Hood said.

Hood said he doesn't know if Decosta was struck by the initial volley. Decosta's gun, which contained three rounds, apparently jammed, but police said it's not known if he tried to fire or if it was misloaded or damaged when he fell.

"Clearly, it took that many shots to end the threat," Hood said. "The restraint officers showed after the first series of shots put them at risk. Had it not been for the malfunction, we could have easily had an officer shot, which I believe was his (Decosta's) intent."

The shooting is being investigated by Santa Rosa police and the Sonoma County district attorney per a protocol governing officer-involved shootings.

"From all the information I've received from investigating agencies . .. it appears that our officers acted in an appropriate manner and consistent with their training," Hood said.

Petaluma police went into greater detail about the shooting Friday in response to information released by the Sonoma County coroner revealing that Decosta was shot 27 times.

An autopsy Monday showed Decosta was shot in the head, neck, chest, abdomen, groin, left arm, left leg and right foot. Five of the shots could have proved fatal on their own, authorities said.

Six shots grazed Decosta, Sheriff's Lt. Dave Edmonds said.

Most of the entry wounds were on the left side of Decosta's body, suggesting he was hit as he was turning on officers who had pulled up behind his car. Hood called that "speculation."

He said officers were attempting a high-risk traffic stop, which involves an overwhelming show of force so that the suspect gives up.

The five officers, riding in four cars, fanned out behind Decosta's car in such a way as to prevent them from accidentally firing at one another and minimizing risk to civilians, Hood said.

"The ultimate success depends on compliance from the suspect, which in this case, the suspect immediately exited his car and was confrontational," he said.

Petaluma police, along with a Sacramento police detective and a special agent with the state Department of Justice, had been searching for Decosta since the day before the shooting.

Sacramento authorities had recently learned that Decosta might be cashing Social Security checks in Petaluma. He had been sought since 1998 on a $100,000 arrest warrant accusing him of child molestation.

Sacramento Police Sgt. Justin Risley said Friday that the case involved allegations Decosta had raped and sodomized his 10- and 11-year-old stepdaughters.

"He packed everything and left before she (Decosta's wife) realized it," Risley said. "We investigated it and were never able to locate him."

After spotting Decosta at a gym on Old Corona Road, two Petaluma detectives radioed for two uniformed officers to stop Decosta's car. They were joined in the pursuit by another officer when Decosta didn't stop.

During the two-minute, seven-second chase, officers noted Decosta seemed to be reaching for something in his car, Hood said. They also learned from a dispatcher moments before Decosta pulled over that he had a weapon registered in his name.

Bob McMenomey, the use-of-force commander for the Sheriff's Department, said deputies are trained to use deadly force to protect themselves or others from an immediate threat of death or serious injury.

In situations where deputies resort to firing their gun, McMenomey said, "you shoot until you perceive the threat has been stopped, until it is no longer a threat."

All the officers involved in Saturday's shooting were carrying semiautomatic .40-caliber Glock handguns, which usually have 10 to 15 rounds.

Most U.S. law enforcement agencies switched to semiautomatics from revolvers after shootouts in the 1970s and 1980s in which officers were outgunned.

Lt. Danny Fish, who oversees special operations for Petaluma police, said officers don't carry semiautomatics because they are easier to fire but because they are more technologically advanced.

"We try to provide our people with the best item out there," he said. "Right now, that's semiautomatic weapons."
by anon
With 5 officers shooting, 27 shots is not considered excessive. Police are trained to fire 3 shots at a time. If all 5 police fired both times, that would be 30 shots.
by b
I read the story and well... can't figure out what it is that your upset about.The guy had it coming and for the price of a box and a half of shells, saved the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.
by Steve London (stwestway [at] yahoo.com)
Failure to stop. Non compliant. Armed. Points gun at police.
Fire away........
by Ben Miner
This man choose his method of death when he pointed a gun at the police. Would you have liked to have been to one to explain a cop's wife that the reason her husband is dead is because they gave him a little more time to lower his gun?
by SAxd9s
Let's see: accused of child molestation, led police on a chase, became confrontational, and points a firearm at police officers, once after being shot.

Sounds like suicide by police! Glad none of the officers or any bystanders were hit.



by RODNEY
Can't a police officer defend his own life and the lives of the ones he is sworn to protect? Why is the one who raises the weapon [the criminal] always seem to have more rights than that of the one who is underpaid, unappreciated, and protects us while we sleep at night? What were they suppose to do, wait until the suspect fired a shot and hurt or killed them or someone else? In no way were they wrong in what they did! Why didn't the suspect listen to authority? Police officers are trained to "stop the threat" and if 27 shots is what it took to stop the threat, then a non-lethal means of self defense would have been, well pointless. Sometimes there is no other option.
by NP
I bet you're wondering whether I'm talking about the "victim" or the author! So am I...

The only tragedy here is that those little girls didn't find daddy's gun and kill this bastard before he raped and sodomized them. Kids as young as 6 have used their parents guns to save themselves and their parents from violence. Teach your kids what's right and what's wrong. Teach them how to be safe, how to shoot, and that some things justify the use of force.

In case anybody missed it, the bastard was shooting at the police - he only had three bullets left in the gun, and it was jammed, which means he fired several shots. Remember the cop in NYC who got killed (while wearing a vest) by a guy shooting a 9mm? You'd rather have the cops die than a child molesting cop killer? Your priorities are severely screwed up. You should get in a car chase, then start shooting a 9mm at the half dozen officers who are pointing .40 caliber Glocks at you. Maybe that would educate the officers as to the nature of your political leanings.

by Me
How about you tell us what you would do in the same situation? Ask him to please be a nice man and not shoot your gun at us? You pick up a gun and aim it at another human being with malicious intent, and you get what's coming to you.

Or maybe you think the LEOs should have taken turns shooting him? "hey Bob! I shot him once and he is still shooting. Maybe you should shoot him too."

What an idiot!
by NG
wow what a moron!!!!!!!!! police misconduct???????? y dont u go out there and be a cop then u f*cking a**hole. i would have taken a semi auto 10 gauge with buckshot and emptied the magazine on that mother f*cker!! im tired of hearing about this police brutality or police misconduct or corruption or whatever you want to call it. thats all anybody has ever done after rodney king! well guess what we are tired of it so F*CK YOU A**HOLE!!!!!!
by Jim (kingjames76 [at] hotmail.com)
I live nearby the shooting and went down to see what had happened, perhaps a half hour after the shooting.
I also wonder about accountability and verification. Obviously the survivors demonize dead victims, and write history. How did detectives happen upon him at the gymn?? What is the story here? Do we have only the killers' side of the story?
by chase
It takes a lot to go out and protect.knowing that it may come down to a moment to save or loose a fellow officer is the reality of their job.if reaction is the only way to insure safty.....there is no choice.
Hearing that it took 27 shots,at 1 st seemed like a lot.after reading about the vic and his alegid crimes I feal 27 wasn't enough.child crimes are scary.each vic of a crime may inturn hurt 1-5 other before they get help,end up in prison'where the meet more people like them selves,and now its proven they form hunting packs'predators serve a small amount of time,then are releaced with lil to no monatering.if he raped both step children,what other children did he abuse.don't people understand our children are the worlds only hope to heal.they will make the world what they are showen and percieve what it should be.its the 90,000 predators in californa alone that hold are doom of a peaceful loving world.and I don't meen the confused people who were mollested and don't know what they are.....I meen the true preditors who kidnap and kill our babbys.I have a lil girl and if myself or any 1 were to rob her of being a child.....27 is less than that person deserves....
I'm proud the officers reacted to save theirlives and the lives of their fellow officers...the fact they killed a rotten pedofile makes me sleep a lil better.saddly there are 90,000 more to fear...
I hope they keep protecting their selves...a good officer is hard to find,let a lone a good officer who reacts.
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