2026 March 12 - Eric Keith Brown

• 2026 March 12 - Eric Keith Brown (PDF, 700 KB) »

On March 12, 2026, Santa Rosa Police Officer Taylor McDonagh shot and seriously  injured 46-year-old Eric Keith Brown as he advanced towards her despite multiple commands to  stop, as well as taser deployment. Following the shooting, the Santa Rosa Police Department  invoked the Sonoma County Law Enforcement Employee-Involved Critical Incident Protocol  (“protocol”). The purpose of this protocol is to set forth procedures and guidelines to be used by Sonoma County law enforcement agencies in the criminal investigation of specifically defined  incidents involving law enforcement employees. Under this protocol an outside law  enforcement agency is designated to investigate officer-involved critical incidents.

In this case, members of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department assumed  responsibility for the investigation of the shooting. Members of the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office participated in the investigation in a supporting role, in accordance with the protocol. Under the protocol the role of the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office is to  review the investigation to determine if there exists any criminal liability on the part of involved  parties including the law enforcement employees, to provide assistance to the investigating agency regarding legal issues, to supplement the investigation when necessary, and, when  appropriate, prosecute those persons believed to have violated the law.

Once the investigation is complete, the District Attorney is required by the protocol to  complete a thorough review of the investigation and prepare a report summarizing the  investigation and documenting her conclusions. A copy of this report is to be submitted to the  foreperson of the Sonoma County Grand Jury.

This report includes a summary of facts surrounding the shooting of Eric Keith Brown, a statement of the applicable law, legal analysis and conclusions. This report does not and cannot  include all of the information contained in the reports and digital media reviewed in its  preparation. However, every effort has been made to include in this report a summary of all  relevant, material evidence gathered by the involved agency and the investigating agencies over  the course of its extensive investigation of this death.