Boy, 15, shot in foot by Santa Rosa officer in what police say was attempt at ‘suicide by cop’

A 15-year-old Santa Rosa boy is in a local hospital after being shot in the foot by a Santa Rosa police officer late Monday night in what authorities are saying was an attempt to end his life in gunfire by police.

Police received a call about 11:30 p.m. reporting a man with a gun at Coffey Park. Santa Rosa Police Lt. Mike Lazzarini said two officers responded to the call - one from the north and one from the south. The officer from the north, who’s name was not released by police, parked his squad car near a boy who matched the caller’s description. The officer saw that the boy was holding a weapon that looked like a pistol, police said.

Lazzarini said that the boy briefly went to the ground before rising up and aiming the weapon at the officer. The officer fired “a couple of rounds,” shooting the boy in the left foot, Lazzarini said.

After taking the boy into custody, police determined that the pistol was actually a replica. Lazzarini said it did not have an orange tip, and that the incident appears to have been an attempt by the boy to end his life. He described the incident as an attempt at “suicide by cop.”

“The kid was the reporting party,” Lazzarini said. “He called it in himself. He said that there was a man at the park with a gun. He described his clothing, and he also had a suicide note in his possession.”

Police say the boy openly discussed his intent to be fatally shot by a police officer.

The boy’s name was not disclosed, nor was the hospital he was taken to. His father has been notified, and was assisting in the investigation, police said.

Lazzarini said the Santa Rosa Police Department is handling the investigation because it wasn’t a fatal shooting, and that a charge of assault on a police officer with a replica firearm is pending. Both officers have been placed on paid administrative leave.

The two officers who were on scene were equipped with body cameras, but police are not releasing the video to the public.

You can reach Staff Writer Christi Warren at 521-5205 or christi.warren@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @SeaWarren.