NAPA SHERIFF'S UPDATE: Officer "Thought (Suspect) Was Going to Overpower Him, Take His Firearm"

UPDATE: 6:50 p.m. Thursday, April 4, 2013.

The Napa Police Officer who fired his weapon in Tuesday night's incident is Eric Koford, according to a statement Thursday from Napa County Sheriff's Capt. Tracey Stuart.

Koford, 29, is the son of former Napa County Sheriff Douglas Koford, Sheriff's Capt. Leroy Anderson said.

Koford has been with the Napa Police Department for 4 ½  years, Stuart said.

She said an investigation of the officer-involved shooting Tuesday night near Home Depot indicates the following scenario:

As Napa Special Investigations Bureau agents approached the Honda, they had their guns pointed at the three occupants, Stuart said.

The passenger side doors on the Honda were open, Stuart said.

Agent Koford approached the right front side of the Honda, while two other NSIB agents covered the two other occupants of the Honda.

The front passenger, Pablo Ramirez, raised his hands, then lunged forward from the car and grabbed Agent Koford’s hands that were holding his firearm.

Agent Koford believed Ramirez was going to overpower him and take his firearm. Agent Koford fired one shot, striking Ramirez in the upper right chest.

Pablo Ramirez remains in critical condition and the investigation is continuing, Stuart said.

UPDATE 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 13, 2013.

Pablo Ramirez, the 37-year-old man who was shot in the upper chest Tuesday night by a Napa Special Investigations Bureau agent, is in critical condition at Queen of the Valley Medical Center, Napa County Sheriff's Capt. Tracey Stuart said today.

"Ramirez is in custody for the felony arrest warrant and was in possession of methamphetamine," Stuart said.

She provided the first Sheriff's Office account of the incident Tuesday night where Ramirez was wounded. An initial narrative on the incident was released late Tuesday night by Napa Police Department.

According to Stuart, the incident began at about 8:10 pm, when agents with the Napa Special Investigations Bureau were conducting surveillance on a '91 Honda that was in a parking lot off Gasser Drive in Napa.

Agents had information that a person in the Honda had a felony warrant for his arrest for violation of probation on an assault with a deadly weapon case and would be in possession of methamphetamine.

Three men were inside the Honda. Four NSIB Agents approached the Honda to arrest Pablo Ramirez, 37 years old, who had the felony warrant for his arrest and was seated in the front passenger seat.

An altercation ensued between one of the agents and Pablo Ramirez, and Ramirez was shot in the right upper chest.

He was transported by ambulance to Queen of the Valley Hospital and is in critical condition. Ramirez is in custody for the felony arrest warrant and was in possession of methamphetamine.

The other two occupants of the Honda were interviewed and the passenger was released. The driver of the car had a misdemeanor traffic warrant for his arrest and was booked into the Napa County Department of Corrections.

The agent involved in the shooting is a Napa Police Officer. He is on paid administrative leave and his name will be released after interviews are completed.

The Napa County Major Crimes Task Force, comprised of representatives from the Napa Police Department, Napa Sheriff’s Office, Calistoga Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office is investigating

UPDATE: 12:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 13, 2013.

By Bay City News Service.

The Napa County Sheriff's Office has identified a man who was shot by a Napa Special Investigations Bureau agent on Tuesday night as 37-year-old Pablo Ramirez.

Ramirez, who was shot once in the upper chest, was taken to Queen of the Valley Medical Center and is expected to survive, Sheriff's Capt. Tracey Stuart said.

Ramirez, believed to be from Napa, was wanted on a no-bail warrant for violating his probation for an assault-with-a-deadly-weapon conviction, she said.

He was one of three men who were in a vehicle that was under surveillance by narcotics agents in a parking lot off of Gasser Drive in Napa when the shooting happened around 8:10 p.m., Napa police said.

Narcotics agents approached the car and held the occupants at gunpoint, police said. Stuart said the agents were dressed in plain clothes but were wearing mesh vests with the word "POLICE" on them.

When Ramirez exited the car from the front passenger seat, he got into an altercation with one of the narcotics agents and the agent shot him once in the chest, Stuart said.

Stuart described the injury as "pretty serious," but she said the sheriff's office was told Ramirez should recover.

The agent who shot Ramirez has been placed on paid administrative leave, Stuart said.

The driver of the car was arrested on a warrant, and the other passenger in the car was released, Stuart said.

ORIGINAL STORY: 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 2, 2013.

A man who was shot in the upper chest Tuesday night during a dispute with a Napa police officer was in unknown condition at Queen of the Valley Medical Center, police said.

The man, who was not positively identified Tuesday night, was shot by a Napa officer who was on a surveillance detail as a member of the Napa Special Investigations Bureau, said Napa Police Capt. Jeff Troendly.

The incident occurred at about 8:10 p.m. Tuesday.

At that time, Troendly said, NSIB agents were conducting surveillance on a vehicle in a parking lot off Gasser Drive east of Soscol Avenue in Napa.

In the vehicle were three male adults. Agents believed one of the subjects in the vehicle was wanted on a no-bail warrant for assault with a deadly weapon.

Agents approached the car and held the occupants at gun point. As one of the occupants exited the car, an altercation ensued between him and one of the agents.

During the course of this altercation, the agent fired one shot striking the subject in the upper chest.

Medical personnel were called to the scene immediately and the male subject was transported by ambulance to Queen of the Valley Medical Center. The medical status of the subject is unknown at this time.

The NSIB Agent involved in this shooting is a Napa Police Department officer. This officer has been placed on administrative leave, as part of the Napa Police Department protocol. 

This incident is being investigated by the Napa County Sheriff’s Office.

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