Sonoma County Sheriff’s Detectives are releasing preliminary information in the on-going investigation of a Rohnert Park officer-involved shooting that occurred on the evening of Sunday, January 14, 2018.
At about 10:40 PM, several Rohnert Park Public Safety officers along with Sergeant Kelly Koffler were inside the Rohnert Park Public Safety headquarters and heard what they believed to be gunshots being fired from just outside their building. As Sergeant Koffler exited the building he encountered a man, later identified as 21-year-old Rohnert Park resident Antonio Ramirez Frati. Frati was holding a handgun in one hand and a bottle of beer in another. The sergeant drew his handgun and called for additional backup.
Sergeant Koffler engaged Frati in conversation, ordering him multiple times to drop his handgun. Frati refused to do so every time and repeatedly told Koffler to shoot him. Many officers responded to the scene and took up various positions. An officer responded to the scene with a less than lethal option which was made available during the incident.
For the public’s safety, roads were closed in the area and a crisis negotiator was summoned. A standoff occurred for about an hour while Koffler used verbal de-escalation efforts, talking with Frati and attempting to get him to surrender his handgun. Frati became increasingly upset that the officers refused to shoot him and at one point asked what he had to do to get them to shoot him.
Efforts at negotiations were unsuccessful and Frati began walking towards Koffler with his gun still in hand, telling the sergeant repeatedly to shoot him. Sergeant Koffler attempted to come to a peaceful resolution but Frati kept walking towards him, closing a distance of about 20 yards. As Frati got within about 15 yards Koffler became fearful that his life was in jeopardy. Koffler, along with four other Rohnert Park officers, fired their guns almost simultaneously, striking Frati three times.
Frati initially fell to the ground, but was able to quickly get back up on his knees. Koffler determined Frati was now unarmed at which point he ran to him, got him to the ground, and provided first aid. An ambulance had been staged and arrived on scene very quickly. Frati was transported to a local hospital where he is expected to survive his injuries.
At this time it is believed that 11 shots were fired collectively by the five officers. The handgun that Frati was holding was a loaded .22 caliber semiautomatic pistol. Three spent .22 caliber casings were found on the ground in front of the Rohnert Park Public Safety Building where it is believed Frati fired the initial rounds. Multiple body cameras were activated by the Rohnert Park Officers which captured the incident on video.
During the hour-long standoff, Rohnert Park dispatchers talked with Frati’s mother, who relayed that he suffered from depression. Follow up interviews with friends and relatives confirmed this, but it is unclear at this time what may have prompted him to attempt suicide in this manner.
The other involved officers who fired their weapons are Sergeant Brendon Jacy Tatum and Officers Daniel Hargreaves, Kieran Keaney and Kyle Pinney. It is standard practice per the Sonoma County Protocol for officers involved in critical incidents to be placed on paid administrative leave.
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