Sacramento sheriff's deputies fired 33 gunshots at armed man in deadly Carmichael shootout

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office on Friday evening released video of deputies firing more than 30 gunshots at a man last month in a Carmichael apartment complex, where he was fatally shot after an hours long standoff and firing a gun at the deputies.

William Dean Wilson, 43, of Carmichael was the man fatally wounded in the shootout with deputies Jan. 10, according to the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office released an edited video of the shootout with narration from sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Amar Gandhi. The video contains footage gathered from a sheriff’s aerial drone and body-worn cameras on the deputies who confronted Wilson as he exited an apartment that night.

The incident began about 5:30 p.m. Jan. 10 when deputies were called to the Sienna Square Apartments in the 4700 block of Marconi Avenue, between Mission and Root avenues. Gandhi said the deputies received reports of a man firing a gun out of his apartment window.

The deputies arrived at the scene and determined that nobody had been injured, before they created a perimeter around the area and evacuated other residents from the apartment complex to isolate the suspect, later identified as Wilson.

Gandhi said deputies quickly established phone contact with Wilson and started speaking with him. Sheriff’s crisis negotiators and the Special Enforcement Detail team, which is the Sheriff’s Office’s SWAT unit, were called to the apartment complex.

Over the next few hours of negotiations with the suspect, Wilson fired several more gunshots from his apartment toward deputies, Gandhi said.

“Wilson became increasingly threatening toward negotiators, specifically mentioning wanting to kill a deputy,” Gandhi said in the video.

The sheriff’s spokesman said the Special Enforcement Detail team deployed a chemical agent into Wilson’s apartment to push him into coming out and surrendering to the deputies. Gandhi did not say what chemical agent was used.

About 9:40 p.m., Wilson came out of his apartment. Gandhi said deputies spotted Wilson holding a handgun behind his back. He said the deputies repeatedly ordered Wilson to drop the gun, but he refused to put down the firearm.

“Suddenly, (Wilson) raised the gun toward deputies and fired one shot,” Gandhi said in the video. “Three deputies immediately returned fire, striking (Wilson) and causing him to fall to the ground.”

He said members of the Special Enforcement Detail team tried to provide first aid to Wilson before medics arrived. Gandhi in Friday’s video said Wilson was pronounced dead at the scene. Previously, the morning after the shooting, Gandhi said Wilson died at a hospital.

Video from the body-worn cameras show the moments when deputies fired their guns at Wilson. Three deputies — all on the Special Enforcement Detail team — fired gunshots at Wilson.

Gandhi said one deputy, who has been with the Sheriff’s Office since 2016 and part of the team since 2020, fired nine gunshots from his rifle at Wilson. He said another deputy with the Sheriff’s Office since 2007 and with the team since 2021 fired two gunshots from his rifle at Wilson.

A deputy, who has been with the Sheriff’s Office since 2018 and with the special enforcement team since last year, fired 22 gunshots from his rifle at Wilson.

The sheriff’s video does not indicate how many gunshots struck Wilson. No other injuries were reported.