Sonoma man involved in fatal police shooting

A 37-year-old Sonoma man is slain after a confrontation with police escalated into gunfire Saturday afternoon. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Dispatch Center had received an emergency 911-phone call from a resident of 245 Napa Road, just east of Broadway, in Sonoma at 12:14 p.m. The adult male caller asked for urgent help to deal with his 37-year-old son, Craig Von Dohlen, at that residence, who had allegedly threatened to kill the man and then himself with a loaded .22 caliber rifle.
This 911 call was recorded, and the phone line remained open throughout the incident as it unfolded. Through questioning, the reporting party explained that Von Dohlen had warned that he was not going to go back to prison.  The reporting party said that Von Dohlen was “high on drugs” and the reporting party couldn’t communicate with him.  More recently, family members were adamant that Von Dohlen was not on drugs at the time of the incident but are awaiting toxicology reports for confirmation.
Described as a gentle and loving man who wouldn’t hurt anyone, Von Dohlen’s family is in shock over the incident. Paulette Nolan, Von Dohlen’s ex-financee described him as a wonderful man with a solid heart.  She understood Von Dohlen’s addiction issues but was quick to point out his loving family and solid support network.
Sheriff’s Dispatchers responded with several units to the scene.  As personnel were responding the suspect made numerous threatening statements including:
“I will shoot them right now.  I’m not going back to prison, they will have to shoot me”.
“I’m not going to shoot myself, they’re going to have to kill me”.
“I’m not going to kill anybody, but I’m gonna shoot cops because I don’t give a f___, they’re gonna have to f__in’ shoot me”.
When interviewed, family members recall Von Dohlen stating, “I’ve done something that has brought shame to the Von Dohlen name.  I have to do it this way.  It’s the only way to protect my family.  I have to let them shoot me.”  What that was remains a mystery.
Such behavior often precedes a so-called “blue suicide,” a slang term that describes a distressed party who engages the “boys in blue” in such a manner as to engender lethal harm to him- or herself.
Vondohlen sounded extremely agitated as the reporting party continued to try to reason with him.  At one point, Vohndohlen replied, “Dad you’ve got like 50 seconds and I will blow your head off and then they will kill me”.    As the heated dialogue continued Vondohlen remained tense, stating things such as  “I will go to hell, I’ve got no choice”, and “all I’ve got to do is pull the trigger and it will work”.
Two Deputy Sheriffs and two Sonoma Police Officers arrived in the area within approximately five minutes, parking away from the residence to make a safe approach and taking about another five minutes to get to the driveway of the residence on foot.
The dispatch tape records the reporting party yelling to the approaching Deputies that his son is in the back yard.  Soon after, Von Dohlen is heard aggressively screaming at the responding Deputies and the Deputies are heard loudly shouting commands back to him.  Soon after multiple gunshots are heard.  Von Dohlen was struck by gunfire.  None of the responding Deputies or officers were injured.
Von Dohlen was transported by ambulance to the Sonoma Valley Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Neighbor Larry Brady who lives on Fifth Street East, directly across the street from the field where the ambulance, REACH and Sheriff’s helicopters landed, refutes this information.  According to his timeline, the ambulance transporting Von Dohlen did not leave the scene for Sonoma Valley Hospital for quite some time, conflicting with earlier reports that the ambulance went straight from the Von Dohlen home to the hospital.
The Sonoma County Law Enforcement Chiefs of Police Fatal Incident Protocol was invoked, as standard procedure.  The Santa Rosa Police Department accepted the lead investigative role, with the assistance from the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office.
The identities of the deputies and officers involved have not been released. In accordance with policy, all four employees have been placed on administrative leave.
John Von Dolhen Sr., his wife Kathy and son John are distraught over the incident.  They are also angry over treatment they received from law enforcement officials.  After the shooting, Von Dohlen was unable to be with his fallen son, instead handcuffed and placed in a squad car.  According to the couple, Mrs. Von Dohlen, called home from her job at Broadway Market, was placed in a separate squad car from her husband and both were left sitting for a considerable amount of time before being released and informed then that their son was dead.
The family also cannot understand why so many shots were fired.  Von Dohlen states that after the initial gunshot wounds felled this son, another officer pulled out a pistol and fired another four shots.
“Yesterday’s incident just outside Sonoma’s City Limits was tragic for the family and friends of the deceased and those public safety officers present,” commented Sonoma Mayor Ken Brown via email Sunday morning. “There will be a complete investigation by an outside agency, in this case the Santa Rosa Police force. Details will be forthcoming as the investigation continues.”
Some information for this story was provided by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department.