Police Investigate Officer-Involved Shooting in Marin City

By Karina Ioffee

Police are investigating an incident in which a Marin County Sheriff’s deputy shot a Marin City man in the arm Sunday night because the man was trying to run down the deputy in his car, according to Sheriff's Lt. Jamie Scardina.

Scardina said the deputy, whose name has not been released, was on patrol in Marin City around 6 p.m. when he spotted a man who has had contact with the authorities in the past and was known to have a suspended license. The deputy turned around and parked behind the suspect’s car, but as he was walking toward the vehicle, the suspect ducked down inside his car.

The deputy drew his firearm and ordered the man, later identified as 44-year-old Chaka Grayson, to show his hands. At that point, Grayson accelerated his car towards the deputy, who fired several rounds at the suspect. The vehicle continued down Terners Drive and was later found abandoned.

Keith Waye, a Marin City resident, disagreed with the deputy's account of what happened. He said that Grayson did not try to accelerate toward the deputy, but simply tried to leave after being pulled over.

"The officer was standing at the driver side door and pulled out his gun after the guy tried to leave," Waye said, adding that the deputy fired eight to 10 rounds at the suspect. "There were kids playing nearby and any number of people could have been hit...The situation should have been handled entirely differently."

Waye disputed this as well, saying he spoke to the deputy and did not witness any blood on him.

Scardina announced that Grayson was found at around 9:55 p.m., with help from members of the community. 

He was immediately taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of the injuries he sustained in the incident. Scardina did not have any information about the exact nature of Grayson's injuries, though he reported earlier that Grayson was bleeding and likely required medical attention.

The Novato Police Department is investigating the incident. It’s standard protocol for an outside agency to handle an officer-involved shooting to ensure an unbiased investigation.

The Marin City off-ramp from Hwy. 101 and parts of Donohue Street, which were shut down briefly due to the search, have reopened. Some parts of Marin City were also shut down due to the incident.