San Rafael, CA – On June 23, 2023, Brandon Hernandez-Sanchez, a 29-year-old San Rafael resident, was arrested after he had called 9-1-1, made a false police report, was found to be under the influence of a controlled substance, endangered juveniles, and fought with officers.  Hernandez-Sanchez was booked into Marin County Jail on several felony and misdemeanor charges.

At 4:38 PM, two San Rafael Police Officers arrived at an apartment complex in the 200 block of Canal Street after being dispatched to a suspicious circumstance call.  Hernandez-Sanchez called 9-1-1 to report that he could see a woman being killed through a window at the apartment complex.  The dispatcher reported that Hernandez-Sanchez was not cooperative while trying to obtain information.  An officer also tried calling Hernandez-Sanchez to get more information, and he remained uncooperative.

Upon arrival, the officers observed Hernandez-Sanchez, a 6-foot large stature male, at the top of the stairs in the apartment complex.  Officers noticed that Hernandez-Sanchez was acting unusual and possibly under the influence.  The officers were also called over to an apartment where two juveniles reported that Hernandez-Sanchez had been bothering them and trying to get into their apartment.  After receiving the information, the officers tried to talk to Hernandez-Sanchez, and he fled down the stairs.

Hernandez went to the rear of the apartment complex, stopped, and told officers that the women in the apartment still needed help.  Officers could see that Hernandez-Sanchez was behaving erratically and was under the influence of a controlled substance.  The officers used de-escalation techniques to keep Hernandez-Sanchez calm during their contact.

The officers started a drug evaluation of Hernandez-Sanchez to determine if he could care for himself and others.  During the evaluation, officers determined that he could not care for his own safety and posed an ongoing danger to the public if not taken into custody.  The officers attempted to arrest and take Hernandez-Sanchez into protective custody for being under the influence of a controlled substance. 

When the officers went to place Hernandez-Sanchez into handcuffs, he became uncooperative and began to physically fight with the officers.  At one point, he broke free from the officers and began to head toward the apartment stairs again.  Hernandez-Sanchez briefly stopped but still would not cooperate with officers’ orders and directions.  It appeared that Hernandez-Sanchez was going to run back to the apartment where the juveniles were located.  When Hernandez-Sanchez failed to follow commands and began running up the stairs, officers were forced to deploy their Tasers to stop him.  The Tasers had little effect, and he continued running up the stairs.  

When Hernandez-Sanchez got to the second floor, he ran toward the apartment where the juveniles were located, jumped through the front plate glass window, and went inside.  He then tried to barricade himself in a bedroom with the juveniles.  The officers kept Hernandez-Sanchez from closing the door and attempted to use their Tasers, which again had little effect. 

He then physically fought with officers again.  The officers could not control Hernandez-Sanchez, and he fled from the apartment to the ground floor.  Hernandez-Sanchez then broke into a second apartment that was occupied by a family.  The officers pulled him out of the apartment, and he ran to another apartment and was unsuccessful at forcing the door open.  Hernandez-Sanchez then fled to an adjacent parking lot.

Based on what had already occurred, the involved officers were concerned for the public’s safety and believed that Hernandez-Sanchez would harm someone else or break into another apartment.  Officers repeatedly gave directions and tried to physically take Hernandez-Sanchez into custody; however, he resisted and fought.  Since the Tasers were ineffective, officers used their batons to stop Hernandez-Sanchez.  After several strikes, Hernandez-Sanchez dropped to the ground.  Officers continued to direct Hernandez-Sanchez, and he remained uncooperative.  

Additional officers arrived on the scene and assisted with the arrest.  Hernandez-Sanchez still refused to follow directions and struggled.  The additional officers overcame his resistance and placed him in handcuffs.  Once subdued, Hernandez-Sanchez was placed into the recovery position, and paramedics were called to the scene.  During the arrest, officers found Hernandez-Sanchez to be in possession of suspected cocaine. 

SRFD paramedics transported Hernandez-Sanchez to a local hospital for a medical evaluation before being booked into jail, which is standard procedure after a taser deployment and for a suspect under the influence of a controlled substance.  

After being released from the hospital, Hernandez-Sanchez was booked into the Marin County Jail on several charges, including burglary, vandalism, narcotics possession, use of controlled substances, resisting arrest, and child endangerment.  The juveniles, in this case, were not physically injured.

When Hernandez-Sanchez was taken into custody, several witnesses and bystanders observed force being used by the officers.  The San Rafael Police Department recognizes the importance of being transparent and providing context as to what was witnessed and observed by our community.