Plan B Forum

Rohnert Park reviewing video of cop pulling gun on man
By Kale Williams
Updated 8:53 pm, Tuesday, August 4, 2015

An internal review is being conducted in Rohnert Park after a police officer was caught on video pulling his gun on a civilian who was filming him last month.

In a Facebook post dated July 29, Rohnert Park resident Don McComas said that he was in front of his house hooking a trailer up to his sport utility vehicle when a police officer drove slowly up to his house, stopped, then circled around and came back.

That’s when McComas pulled out his phone and began recording.

In the video, the unidentified officer pulls his patrol vehicle in front of McComas’ home and stops while McComas continues to film. At one point the officer pulls out a camera of his own and appears to be taking a picture of McComas, but things escalate quickly once the officer exits his vehicle.

“Go ahead and take your hands out of your pockets,” the officer says.

“No. Sir, I’ve done nothing. I’ve done absolutely nothing,” McComas responds.

At that point the officer unholsters his gun and briefly points it at McComas while the two trade verbal jabs, with McComas accusing the Rohnert Park Police Department of corruption and the officer asking, “Are you some kind of constitutionalist crazy guy, or what?”

McComas accuses the officer, who keeps the gun out throughout the roughly three-minute encounter, of using the weapon as a tool of intimidation and tells him that the video is going straight to YouTube.

“When I saw the gun and comprehended what was happening, I absolutely thought ‘they are going to kill me and claim my hand was in my pocket’ period,” McComas wrote in a comment on the video.

As the officer leaves, without accusing McComas of any wrongdoing, he says, “Have a nice day. Go ahead and put it on YouTube. I don’t really care.”

In a joint Facebook post to the City of Rohnert Park Police & Fire page, Rohnert Park Mayor Amy Ahanotu and City Manager Darrin Jenkins said an internal review was under way to determine whether the officer had followed protocol in the incident.

“We understand the concerns that have been raised by our community and others and we want the public to know that your trust in law enforcement in our City is a top priority,” the post read. “We want to make sure we are using the best practices for the highest level of safety for both our officers and the community.”