Body-cam footage released from officer who fired at man wielding umbrella

Body-cam video released Friday by Santa Rosa police shows an officer chasing down a suspect last month moments after he fired three shots at the man, believing the umbrella he was carrying was a gun. The footage, included in a debriefing video narrated by Santa Rosa Police Chief Ray Navarro, captured only the aftermath of the Dec. 7 shooting near Guerneville Road and Sunny View Way. Officer Stephen Darden fired three rounds from his department-issued AR-15 rifle after mistaking the object in the man's hands for a gun. The suspect, identified as Santa Rosa resident Joshua Oceguera, 24, was not hit by the gunfire. Darden did not active his body-worn camera until he began his foot pursuit of Oceguera, moments after he fired on the man. "After he pointed it at me, he opened it up," Darden told dispatchers after the shooting, according to a separate, newly released police recording not captured on the body-cam footage. "It's an umbrella. Shots fired on my end. No injuries." The encounter between Darden and Oceguera came moments after two 911 calls made to police by people who said they saw what resembled a man holding a gun, walking along Guerneville Road and pointing it at passing motorists. After the brief footchase, Darden's body-cam video shows him tackling Oceguera onto the ground on the side of the road and then ordering him to roll over onto his stomach. The man is handcuffed and then searched, with Darden confiscating what appeared to be two knives and a cellphone, video showed. In addition to Darden's body-cam footage and the two 911 recordings, police released separate body-cam footage from other officers, including a fellow Santa Rosa officer who helped detain Oceguera. Navarro, describing the shooting in his video debriefing, said Darden feared for his life. Darden ordered Oceguera to show his hands over his patrol car's PA system, but Oceguera did not comply. "Oceguera turned and faced the officer with a bladed stance and pointed the object at the officer," Navarro said. "Fearing for his life, the officer lifted his service rifle and fired three shots."

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