"The death of Richard Desantis, 30, marks the second use of lethal force in four weeks by law enforcement officers in Sonoma County against a person with some form of mental illness. "

"In the earlier case, a 16-year-old Sebastopol boy was shot dead on March 12 by sheriff's deputies who were called to his home after he threatened to kill his 6-year-old brother. "

"A lawyer representing Desantis' widow asserted that both shootings were unjustified. "Evidently, the (police) training in Sonoma County is not effective," said attorney Eric Safire of San Francisco. "

"A preliminary investigation by the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office found that Desantis, who lived with his wife and two young children in a Santa Rosa, had fired about 10 pistol rounds into the ceiling of his home before Santa Rosa police officers showed up at his door at about 1:19 a.m. "

"Desantis' wife, Patricia, had called the county's 911 dispatch center and asked for help, saying that her husband had fired shots into the attic with his handgun because he thought he heard strangers' voices. She said her husband was bipolar, and had stopped taking his medication. "

"Minutes later, police officers arrived and found the couple in the driveway -- along with two young children. "

"Police said Desantis' wife was holding her 2-year-old girl in her arms and yelling at the officers that this was a mental health problem. Officers ordered Richard Desantis to the ground. "

""She had disarmed him before the cops were there," Safire said. "She said, I got the gun, I got the gun. ... I can't say whether they heard her. He gets down on his knees with his hands up, then for some unknown reason advances toward them in some fashion." "

""He was anxious to get back to work so he went off his medication," Safire said. "He was hearing people upstairs in his house. His wife tried to calm him down." "

""His wife had taken away his drugs," Safire said. "Even if he was under the influence, it doesn't justify the shooting." "

"The officers involved in the shooting were Sgt. Jerry Soares, Sgt. Rich Celli, Officer Travis Menke and Officer Patricia Mann. The four have been placed on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation. "

"According to the police, Soares used a nonlethal weapon to fire a 3-inch-long plastic projectile at Desantis' lower body to stop his assault. The projectile apparently broke Desantis' arm, but he continued charging at three of the officers. Celli, Mann and Menke each fired one round. Two bullets struck Desantis in the torso, stopping his advance. "

"An ambulance crew said Desantis was dead at the scene. Detectives later recovered one rifle and two handguns from inside the home, including the one used to shoot into the ceiling. "

""Clearly, there was a report of a mentally ill person who needed help. For law enforcement, weapons and force have to be dealt with before you can go to anything else," said Sheriff's Lt. Robert Giordano, who
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