Jody Purdon
Special to the Sun
Saturday’s shooting death of 37-year-old Craig Von Dohlen is a tragedy to his family, friends and community members of this small town. Following an emergency 911-phone call, Von Dohlen lay dead, a victim of police gunfire. Exactly how this tragedy occurred is still a mystery to those around him.
In a press release issued by the Sheriff’s department on Tuesday, the autopsy revealed the preliminary cause of death to be multiple gunshot and shotgun wounds. According to the pathologist, Von Dohlen suffered ten gunshot injuries, two of which appeared to be grazing wounds. The majority of injuries were to the lower torso, hip and thigh area. The head had one penetrating gunshot which was considered fatal.
The Von Dohlens paint a picture of their son as a loving and gentle man, not without problems but doing his best to overcome those obstacles. Friends and neighbors corroborate this reflection and talk about what a close-knit family the Von Dohlens have always seemed. Broadway Market manager Al Robles said both John and Kathy Von Dohlen were stand-up employees. “Kathy is the best, “said Robles. “She’s worked for me almost forever. She’s always here and if I asked her to work on her days off she would. They are just a nice family and what’s happened is tragic.”
Saturday’s incident began when John Von Dohlen Sr. made an urgent phone call to police eliciting help for his suicidal son. At the time, Von Dohlen stated that his son was “high on drugs,” had a loaded rifle and was prepared to shoot him. The 911-call was recorded and the line remained open, detailing the confrontation. Several units from the Sheriff’s department were dispatched to the scene, which unfolded rapidly.
According to Von Dohlen, the 911-emergency phone call was precipitated by extremely erratic behavior from his son. “Craig was in the bedroom having a cigarette with his brother John and son, Kyle. They were in there for about 40 minutes, talking about Christmas presents and what not. Shortly after that, John and Kyle left,” said Von Dohlen Sr. “When Craig came out, he had a gun in his hand and said that he was going to shoot me.” The family would later learn of the conversation Craig had had with his son Kyle where he stated his intention to die. Kyle is reported to have told his father, “I love you. I know you have to do what you have to do. I’m really mad at you right now but I’ll see you in Heaven.”
The family is unsure what set Craig off in that short span of time. Initially reported as high at the time, Von Dohlen’s behavior could be chemically based or not, according to Captain Dave Edmonds of the Sheriff’s department. John Von Dohlen Sr. and his son, John Von Dohlen Jr. now say that Craig was not high at the time of the incident.
Regardless, Craig Von Dohlen, recorded on the 911 tape repeating phrases like, “I’m not going back to prison,” “I have to do it this way,” and “I’ve brought shame to the family name,” was considered a lethal threat by the responding officers.
Sheriff Cogbill acknowledged that the incident was potentially a little known occurrence called “suicide-by-police,” or its more technical term, Victim Precipitated Homicide. This phenomenon happens in 10 to 15 percent of officer-involved shootings, according to a 2001 issue of FBI National Academy Associates magazine. The method of suicide is to entice a police officer, in a self-defensive action, to shoot the victim. It is often later discovered in such instances that the weapon used by the subject was unloaded or non-functioning.
Edmonds had these comments. “I listened to the 911 tape and there were certainly statements that I heard that were consistent with this theory,” said Edmonds. “However, some of the statements I heard are also what would also be considered homicidal.”
Edmonds also shed some more light on the truth surrounding the “suicide-by-cop” ideology. “The term isn’t really accurate. An incident of this nature can’t really be considered a suicide because the purported victim is forcing someone else to respond – to save their own life by using lethal force” said Edmonds. “In this case, Craig Von Dohlen sounded and acted homicidal and had the means to take his own life. The actions he took forced the deputies to save their own lives by using lethal force.”
As the incident developed, the senior Von Dohlen moved from the house to the back yard where he proceeded to speak calmly to his son, attempting to get him to put the weapon down. He made the call to 911 when that seemed impossible.
When police arrived, Von Dohlen Sr. was in the house, having returned inside telling his son he needed a drink of water. “I finally saw the police around the hedges in front and tried to get them to come into the house,” said Von Dohlen. “They refused to come to me and kept telling me to come outside to where they were.”
From the back yard, Craig heard the exchange, rushed through the house, throwing open the screen door and ran at the four officers. They responded with a barrage of gunfire that felled Craig and hit the house, with one bullet passing through an exterior wall, an interior wall, and lodging inside a closet in the bedroom where Craig had been 30 minutes or so earlier.
According to Von Dohlen, even when his son lay dying, one deputy pulled out a revolver and shot him four times. Almost worse for him, he wasn’t allowed to be with his son, and was handcuffed and placed in a squad car until he could calm down. “They treated me like I was a criminal,” said Von Dohlen. “They wouldn’t let me call my wife or loosen the handcuffs which were biting into my skin.”
The younger Von Dohlen was transported by ambulance to 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. Sonoma Police Chief Phil Garcia couldn’t be reached for comment.
At this time, the identities of the involved deputies and officers have not been released. All of them are Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department employees (the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department provides police services to the City of Sonoma under contract). In accordance with policy, all four employees have been placed on administrative leave.
Edmonds commented on the role of the authorities, “I think it is very difficult for the public to dissect what happens in an extremely chaotic situation. The truth is, when presented with an immediate lethal threat to themselves or someone in the vicinity, an officer’s training is to respond to alleviate the threat. The options become extremely limited. In terms of disabling an assailant without killing him or her, I’ve seen situations where an assailant has been disabled but is still a lethal threat.”
Questioned about the possibility of shots being fired at Von Dohlen after he was down, Edmonds went on to state that an officer’s responsibility is to deal with the threat. And while he is not able to speak on the sequence of events, he believes that if one, or more, officers continued to shoot, then the perception existed that there was still a lethal threat to those involved.
Toxicology reports as well as the overall investigation are ongoing by the Santa Rosa Police Department, and their findings may shed more light on exactly what happened and the reasons why.
