City of Santa Rosa, CA, CivicReady Public Safety Alerts & Notifications
SRPD News Release: SRPD officers arrest man armed with a knife.
SRPD officers arrest man armed with a knife.
On January 17, 2026, at approximately 1109 hours, officers from the Santa Rosa Police Department successfully detained an armed individual following a series of de-escalation attempts on the west side of the city.The incident began when dispatch received reports of an adult male using a large knife to cut trees along the west side of the road, near the 300 block of Fulton Road. Upon arrival, officers located the subject as he turned eastbound onto Occidental Road. Officers observed the male carrying a large, fixed-blade knife and making stabbing motions in the air and at times, concealing the knife on his person.
Recognizing the potential danger to the public, officers remained with the individual, attempting to contain his movements and limit public access to the immediate area. For several blocks, officers utilized de-escalation techniques, providing continuous verbal commands in both English and Spanish, repeatedly instructing the male to drop the weapon.
The subject refused to comply with all verbal directives and continued to walk away from the scene while brandishing the knife. The situation escalated when the male made a sudden lunging movement toward one of the officers with the knife. In response to the immediate physical threat, an officer deployed a Conducted Energy Weapon (CEW) to safely immobilize the subject.
The male was taken into custody without further incident. He was identified as 38-year-old Martin Nunez Rodriguez, of Santa Rosa. A search of Rodriguez incident to his arrest revealed he also possessed suspected methamphetamine. Rodriguez was subject to pretrial supervision terms and conditions and had an active, do-not-cite arrest warrant. He was booked into the Sonoma County Jail on the following charges:
245(a)(1) PC- Assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm
21310 PC- Illegally carrying a concealed stabbing weapon
69(a)PC- Felony resisting an executive officer
11377(a)HS- Possession of suspected methamphetamine
1203.2(a)PC- Violation of pretrial supervision
Do-not-cite misdemeanor warrant
The Santa Rosa Police Department remains committed to transparency in their mission to keep Santa Rosa a safe place to live, work and play. No officers or bystanders were injured during this encounter.
Santa Rosa Police Department case number 26-552.
Media contact:
Sergeant Tanya Potter
tpotter@srcity.org