Man Who Died In Sonoma County Sheriff's Deputy's Custody Near Petaluma Identified

PETALUMA (CBS SF) - A man who died Wednesday in the custody of Sonoma County Sheriff's Office deputies near Petaluma has been identified as Rigoberto Cabrera, 35, of Petaluma.

Petaluma police said the sheriff's office received a call around 6:40 p.m. from a resident who said a man who appeared to be a transient was in a vehicle parked in the resident's driveway and refused to leave.

A sheriff's deputy and a deputy in training responded and found Cabrera in a vehicle near Sonoma Mountain and Adobe roads in unincorporated Sonoma County around 7:35 p.m.

Cabrera told the deputies he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest, and the deputies saw extensive drug paraphernalia in the vehicle, police said. Cabrera was detained and handcuffed after he got out of the vehicle.

Deputies noticed Cabrera appeared to be experiencing a medical emergency, and deputies had him sit on the ground, police said. Cabrera appeared to pass out and the deputies placed him in a recovery position on his side, police said. The deputies requested emergency medical aid and gave Cabrera two doses of Narcan, a drug used to counteract an opioid overdose.

Petaluma Fire Department paramedics arrived as the deputies were trying to relocate Cabrera's pulse. Cabrera's handcuffs were removed and paramedics the deputies continued life-saving efforts for an extended period of time, but Cabrera died at the scene, Petaluma police said.

Petaluma police, the Sonoma County District Attorney's office and the Marin County Sheriff's Office's coroners division are investigating the death. The Marin County Sheriff's Office's coroner's division will conduct an autopsy.

Cabrera had an outstanding misdemeanor warrant in Sonoma County for destruction of evidence and possession of a narcotic substance, and he also had numerous prior contacts with Sonoma County law enforcement agencies, police said.

Cabrera also was one of seven Sonoma County jail inmates who filed a civil suit against the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office that accused jail corrections officers of beating inmates as part of "yard counseling" in May 2015. The county settled the lawsuit for $1.7 million to the plaintiffs.

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