Elk Grove Police officer involved in shooting

The Elk Grove Police Department is investigating an officer involved shooting that took place on January 30, 2011 at 2:44 a.m. in the 8600 block of Callippe Way after officers responded to a domestic violence call.

Officers responded to the above location at 2:19 a.m. after receiving a call from a woman regarding her husband (later identified as John Hesselbein) at this location. She indicated that Hesselbein had been drinking and had assaulted her earlier that evening. 

She also stated that she had left the residence to get away from her husband. When she drove back to her residence, she saw that the front door was open. As she was getting ready to exit her vehicle, Hesselbein suddenly jumped out from some nearby bushes and tried to punch out her car windows and threw a lighter at her vehicle. 

The caller immediately drove away in her vehicle in an attempt to get away from her husband. When officers arrived, they contacted the caller a short distance away and she indicated that Hesselbein was inside the house along with a small child.

When officers approached the residence and made contact with Hesselbein at the front door, he refused to exit. Hesselbein then closed the front door, began throwing items inside the house then started turning the lights on and off. Officers then backed away from the location and established a perimeter around the house.

While officers were attempting to make phone contact with Hesselbein, he opened the front door and walked out of the house. Hesselbein was taken into custody, searched and handcuffed. Once detained, Hesselbein was then escorted to a nearby police vehicle where he was placed in the back seat.

Shortly after being placed in the patrol vehicle, Hesselbein began shouting and moving around while seated in the car. After officers opened the patrol vehicle’s rear door to in order to gain control of Hesselbein, one of the officers present fired one round from his department authorized law enforcement rifle. The bullet grazed the left side of Hesselbein’s face (non-life threatening injury). Paramedics were immediately called to the scene and transported him to a local area hospital for medical treatment.

The circumstances surrounding this shooting, including those that caused the officer to fire his weapon, are under investigation at this time. The Sacramento County District Attorney's Office in conjunction with the Elk Grove Police Department’s Detective Bureau, Professional Standards Unit, and Crime Scene Investigations Units are working on this investigation.

Per department policy, the officer involved in the shooting, who has been with the department for three years, has been placed on administrative leave.