Details Released In Officer-Involved Shooting In San Rafael

SAN RAFAEL, CA – The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office has identified the San Rafael police officer and Marin County sheriff's deputy involved in a shooting that injured a man Sunday night in San Rafael.

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident, and a copy of the completed investigation will be sent to the Marin County District Attorney's Office, sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Crum said.

San Rafael police officers were investigating a hit-and-run collision around 9 p.m. when an officer found a man in the middle of the road at Market and Verdi streets in the Canal neighborhood of San Rafael.

The man, later identified as Faramarz Aghazadeh, 48, of San Rafael, was holding a 7-inch folding knife and 6-inch barber shears in his hands and acting suspiciously, Crum said.

A San Rafael police officer confronted Aghazadeh and called for more officers to respond. Officers tried de-escalation techniques for approximately 30 minutes and surrounded the area as Aghazadeh walked east on Verdi Street toward Belvedere Street, Crum said.

Marin County sheriff's Deputy Jaime Rodarte, who was armed with a less-lethal bean bag shotgun, fired four rounds of bean bag projectiles at Aghazadeh as he continued approaching, Crum said.

Aghazadeh ran at full speed toward Rodarte as he made stabbing motions with the knife and shears, and San Rafael police Officer Kevin MacDougald, a 42-year veteran of the police force, ran across the street and fired three rounds with his .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun, according to Crum.

The rounds struck Aghazadeh as he was charging at Rodarte and was about 3 feet away. Aghazadeh fell and officers began life-saving methods.

Aghazadeh was taken by ambulance to a hospital and is in stable condition, Crum said.

MacDougald is on paid administrative leave, which is standard protocol for officer-involved shootings. The incident was recorded on officers' body cameras, Crum said.

Aghazadeh has had contacts with police since 1996 that include misdemeanor offenses of petty theft, vandalism and vehicle theft, for which he is on probation, Crum said.

Aghazadeh remains hospitalized. Authorities will seek charges of attempted murder of a police officer when he is released from the hospital, Crum said.

Previous:

• Armed Man Shot After Charging At Deputy In San Rafael: Police

By City News Service; Kristina Houck/Patch contributed to this report.

Image via Shutterstock