The lawyer for a Northern California police officer placed on leave after being caught on video pulling his gun on a man who was not accused of a crime says that video didn’t capture everything that happened.
Rohnert Park Police Officer Dave Rodriguez was placed on temporary paid administrative leave earlier this week, but in a news release Friday, a lawyer for Rodriguez said his client is looking forward to sharing a “a complete description” of what happened.
In a Facebook post dated July 29, Rohnert Park resident Don McComas said he was in his driveway securing his boat to the back of his SUV when a police officer drove slowly past his house, stopped, then circled around and returned.
At that point, McComas pulled out his cellphone and began recording.
“While some aspects of their contact were captured on video, Officer Rodriguez is eager to share a complete accounting of the events which led to his contact with Mr. McComas as well as a complete description of what occurred during the recording,” said Doug Foley, the officer’s attorney.
In the video, Rodriguez's vehicle is seen driving towards McComas before stopping in front of his house. The officer then sits inside his SUV for nearly two minutes, and at one point, appears to be taking a picture of McComas with his own camera.
As McComas approaches the patrol car to record the license plate number, the officer exits the vehicle and tells him to take his hands out of his pockets.
“No, sir, I’ve done nothing. I’ve done absolutely nothing. No,” McComas responds.
That is when the police officer unholsters his firearm and points it at McComas, who asks him to "put the gun down." The video shows McComas backing away while repeatedly saying "do not touch me" and asserting he did nothing wrong and did not have a weapon.
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Rohnert Park’s assistant city manager said the city is bringing in an independent outside investigator to conduct a full review of the incident.
“Officer Rodriguez looks forward to participating in an independent and objective review of his contact with Mr. McComas,” Foley said in the release.
Foley said his client would not be making any public comments until the conclusion of the investigation.
“He is confident that an independent, fair, and impartial investigation will find that his actions were well within both the law and departmental policy and that he will be exonerated of any wrongdoing,” Foley said.
In the release, Foley thanked members of the Rohnert Park police union and the public for their “steadfast” support of his client.
