Body Camera Video Shows Moments Leading to Shootout Death of California Police Officer

The Yuba-Sutter Officer-Involved Shooting Team, made up of law enforcement officers from both counties, investigated the case and submitted its report to Curry, who concluded that Rodarte and Trumm acted in self-defense when they fatally shot Oliver.

“The conclusion on this one was easy,” Curry said. “They were justified.”

Rodarte’s killing marked the first for a Marysville peace officer in more than a century and brought a wave of public sympathy and support from the Sutter County city of about 12,000. Hundreds lined the city streets for a procession as his body was driven from Marysville to Placer County, and thousands attended a public memorial service held at Hard Rock Live near Wheatland.

What happened?

The shooting took place inside of Oliver’s home in the 1700 block of Kestrel Court in Olivehurst where officers served one of 20 warrants that morning as part of a yearslong investigation into suspected drug trafficking in Northern California.

Warrants were served in Sutter, Yuba, Tehama and Butte counties, leading to 20 arrests in the operation that investigators intended to close out the investigation led by Net-5 — a Yuba- Sutter drug and gang task force — and the DEA into what authorities have described as a family-run drug ring moving hundreds of pounds of drugs from Mexico to street-level dealers in Northern California.

One of those suspected low-level dealers was Oliver, whose toxicology results showed levels of meth in his system more than 10 times the amount linked to hallucinations and violent behavior, authorities said.

“He had a little bit of alcohol on board, but the big one is he had methamphetamine on board,” Curry said. “And more than I’ve ever seen in my career on someone who’s not already dead from methamphetamine intoxication.”

“To say that Mr. Oliver was high on methamphetamine would be an understatement,” Curry added. “He was really high on meth.”

Oliver, a convicted sex offender with a rap sheet of past drug and sex offenses, had not shown a history of violence, Curry said, which factored into the initial risk assessment made on how to serve the arrest warrant. Still, the operation’s leaders requested the tactical team’s help with Oliver’s home after seeing a car there the prior day registered to an unrelated person known to law enforcement to have a violent criminal history, Curry said.

Body-cam footage taken from inside of the police Bearcat vehicle en route to Oliver’s home showed Rodarte armed with an assault rifle, helmet and body armor vest with “rifle-rated plates,” Curry said. The tactical vest’s length stopped short of the lower stomach area where the single hollow-point round struck Rodarte’s body.

The armored vehicle and suited officers, including eight present from the Yuba County Sheriff’s Office, Yuba City Police Department and Marysville Police Department, arrived at Oliver’s home about 7:49 a.m.

The fatal shots were exchanged in two seconds, just after 7:50 a.m.

Video showed the tactical team announcing themselves while moving from the front of the home through a side gate and along the back of the house.

“They’re not being quiet,” Curry said. “They’re not being sneaky.”

Rodarte held a large shield to protect the officer designated to breach the building, and placed it down in favor of his rifle before entering the living room through a back door.

Inside of the room

Trumm, one of two sergeants in the group, moved into the master bedroom as Rodarte followed behind.

“Don’t do it,” Oliver said from inside the room. “Don’t do it.”

“Get your hands,” Trumm shouted as he entered the room where Oliver was hiding behind a stack of storage totes, later found with large amounts of marijuana. Rodarte moved to cover and clear a doorway leading from the room to a bathroom and closet.

“Got your back,” Rodarte said.

Trumm then caught a glimpse of Oliver holding what appeared to be a “big revolver,” Curry said, pointed at the floor.

“He’s got a gun,” Trumm said. “He’s got a gun!”

No shots were fired at that moment, Curry said. Trumm was not wearing a body camera during the incident, and he shared his account of what happened with investigators. He said that he saw a flash from the muzzle of Oliver’s gun and heard a gunshot before firing, Curry said.

“We’re in California: De-escalate. Give a warning. Give instructions,” Curry said. “So he does.”

The shooting erupted in a matter of seconds, with Trumm and Rodarte firing a combined 10 shots while Oliver fired the single shot that struck and killed Rodarte.

Oliver was struck seven times by rounds that investigators determined came from rifles of both officers. Investigators determined that Trumm fired six shots and Rodarte fired four.

The body-cam footage was redacted to remove images of Rodarte’s body and audio of him talking briefly before losing consciousness. Curry said he weighed the privacy interests of Rodarte’s family with the public’s need for transparency.

“Frankly, his children never need to see that,” he said.

The single hollow-point round struck Rodarte in his lower left abdomen and hit a major artery. He’s believed to have died within minutes, Curry said. He was officially pronounced dead at Adventist Health and Rideout hospital in Marysville less than an hour after the shooting.

“There was nothing anyone could do to save Osmar’s life,” Curry said. “They did everything they could.”

With the decision not to file charges, the involved law enforcement agencies will conduct policy and administrative reviews based on the incident.

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