Rohnert Park police shoot and kill man after car and foot chase

Rohnert Park police shoot and kill man after car and foot chase

Associated Press

ROHNERT PARK, Calif. - Rohnert Park police fatally shot a man after they chased him by car and on foot through an apartment complex, authorities said.

Friday night's incident was the second officer-involved shooting this year for police in Rohnert Park, a city of 40,000 people about 50 miles north of San Francisco.

The armed man who was shot after he stopped, turned and aimed at the pursuing officers, said Rohnert Park police Sgt. Art Sweeney. Police have not identified the officer involved.

The unidentified man was taken to an area hospital in critical condition and later died.

The chase began around 10 a.m. when officers tried to stop the suspect, who driving a Volkswagen Passat, on Rohnert Park Expressway. The car chase ended when the vehicle crashed into a tree. Officers said they spotted a handgun when the suspect got out of the car and ran into a complex of two-story apartment buildings.

Officers tried to stop the man with a Taser stun gun before one officer fatally wounded the man, police said.

Some witnesses questioned whether the man turned and aimed at officers before he was shot, according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

The investigation has been turned over to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department, and the officer involved will be placed on paid administrative leave.

The incident resembles an officer-involved shooting in Rohnert Park on Jan. 8, when police shot a 34-year-old Petaluma man in the arm after a chase through a residential area.