Domestic Violence Call Turns Into Hours-Long Standoff
San Andreas, CA — Calaveras sheriff’s officials are sharing an hours-long standoff that involved multiple gunshots and hours of crisis negotiations.
They add that while no law enforcement responders were injured as a result of the officer-involved shooting, the deputies involved have been placed on administrative leave as standard protocol and detectives on Monday were processing the scene under the case investigation oversight of the Calaveras County District Attorney’s Office.
Deputies responded this past Saturday night just before 10 o’clock to a residence on the 4000 block of El Camino Casale Road, to investigate an alleged domestic violence incident.
When the first units arrived on the scene, they viewed a man inside the home armed with a shotgun and subsequently set up a perimeter.
Deputies were able to communicate with the subject, 48-year-old Alexander Koorkoff of Murphys, who pointed his weapon at a female as she exited the house. They attempted to call him several times via telephone hoping he would surrender. However, he told them ahead of repeatedly hanging up he would shoot at law enforcement if they did not leave.
Multiple units responded to the scene, including Angels Camp Police Department, California Highway Patrol, and Fish and Wildlife in addition to the Calaveras County Sheriff’s SWAT and Crisis Negotiation Teams.
Crisis Escalates, Suspect Exits With Handgun
Officials say attempted negotiations with Koorkoff lasted several hours during which he continued to make threats and refused to surrender.
SWAT introduced a “less than lethal law enforcement product” in an effort to get Koorkoff into custody after which Koorkoff fired multiple shotgun rounds at deputies from inside the house and deputies returned fire. When the suspect exited out the garage with his hands up, he still refused to comply with orders, lifting his shirt to show he was armed with a handgun.
According to sheriff’s officials, Koorkoff made several sudden and quick movements with his hands towards his firearm while asking officers to shoot him and in an effort to take him into custody, deputies fired a less-lethal round, striking the suspect, who quickly retreated into the residence.
Attempting to extract him from the home, the SWAT team followed these actions with more less-lethal efforts and negotiators re-established telephone communications with Koorkoff.
Yet once exiting out the front door for what turned out to be the final time, Koorkoff refused to comply with orders and physically resisted arrest before being taken into custody after a short struggle.
Sheriff’s officials state that Koorkoff was taken to a local hospital, where he remained until Monday afternoon due to non-related medical issues. He was then transported for booking at the Calaveras County Jail on multiple felonies, among them: assault with a firearm; corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant; resisting an executive officer; attempted murder of a police officer; and brandishing a weapon.
