The police chief of Sonoma State University stabbed his stepson repeatedly in the chest with a power drill and fired a pistol inside his Hayward home after an argument turned into a life-and-death struggle, Alameda County sheriff’s officials said Tuesday.
SF Gate reports that the fight, which was reported Monday night on the 3300 block of Costa Drive, ended with Elijah Latimer, 20, being treated at a local hospital for multiple stab wounds and an apparent punctured lung. His stepfather, Nathan Johnson, the police chief at Sonoma State University, was treated for a cut on his head.
Johnson, who has been the police chief at Sonoma State since 1999, told investigators that he had fired his personal gun into the wall as a warning shot during the altercation. A single bullet was recovered from the scene, Nelson said.
The bloodied Latimer was found at a neighbor’s house after Johnson called sheriff’s deputies at 10:30 p.m., Nelson said. His injuries are not life-threatening. One other adult in the house at the time of the stabbing refused to talk to investigators, Nelson said, making it difficult to determine who started the fight.
Johnson has 35 years of law enforcement experience, including more than three years as chief law enforcement officer for the entire California State University System, according to his LinkedIn page.