DA: Napa County officer shot suspect in back, video shows
An American Canyon police officer shot a fleeing armed suspect in the back seconds after he appeared to disarm himself of two guns, surveillance video released Wednesday by the Napa County District Attorney’s Office to a local news agency shows.
The 12-second video, obtained by the Vallejo Sun under a public records request, shows 18-year-old Demarea Vaughn Rogers III running away from American Canyon police officer Josh Coleman on Jan. 11.
“Hands up, drop the gun,” Coleman says in the video. Rogers drops one gun on the driveway in front of a house and continues to run with another gun in his hand. “Drop the gun, or I’ll shoot you,” Coleman says as Rogers runs across the street toward another house. Seconds later, just as Rogers appears to throw another gun toward a patch of grass, Coleman opens fire on Rogers, striking him in the back.
Rogers survived the shooting and last month pleaded no contest to a felony charge for carrying a loaded firearm that wasn’t registered to him and to a misdemeanor for obstructing a police officer, according to another local news site, Open Vallejo.
The Solano County District Attorney’s Office forwarded the criminal investigation into the incident to the Napa County District Attorney’s Office, where it remains under review, Open Vallejo reported.
The shooting occurred after a vehicle pursuit, according to a statement about the incident released by American Canyon police on Jan. 12.
Police attempted to make a traffic stop in the area of southbound Highway 29 and American Canyon Road around 3:15 p.m. for a vehicle code violation, police said. The driver did not stop, and police pursued the car into Vallejo, authorities said. The suspect vehicle was “disabled” in the area of Souza Way and Gateway Drive, police said.
“Officers encountered one male suspect and shots were fired by an officer,” the police statement said. The man was transported to the hospital. Shortly after, authorities found a second male suspect and took him into custody, police said. Two guns were recovered at the scene, police said.
The shooting was Coleman’s fifth as a police officer, including four while a member of the Vallejo Police Department, according to the Vallejo Sun.
Coleman testified in court in 2022 that a Vallejo PD superior bent his badge after a shooting, the Vallejo Sun reported.
The practice of badge bending, meant to mark fatal shootings by Vallejo police officers, was brought to light by John Whitney, a former Vallejo police captain who accused the department of firing him for flagging concerns about the practice. Whitney said he became aware of the practice after Vallejo police fatally shot Willie McCoy in February 2019 in a Taco Bell drive-thru, where he had passed out with a gun in his lap.
The Napa County District Attorney’s Office could not be reached for comment.