LAKEPORT — The Lake County District Attorney announced Monday that the officer-involved shooting of Ronald Walter Ossenberg on Oct. 24 of last year was justifiable homicide.
According to District Attorney Don Anderson”s final report on the shooting, Ossenberg, 52, attacked the unnamed California Highway Patrol officer and the two wrestled on the ground as Ossenberg attempted to remove her firearm before she “was able to gain control of the firearm and fire one fatal shot into the body of Ossenberg.”
According to the report, the officer stopped to assist Ossenberg, who was in his vehicle at the side of the northbound lane of Highway 29 south of Lower Lake.
The report states that Ossenberg , a career criminal, was homeless after his release from the Orange County Jail on Oct.3.
According to the report, Ossenberg drove to Lake County from the San Francisco area in a stolen 2010 Toyota Camera, reportedly after stealing the contents of a woman”s backpack at Golden Gate Vista Point.
In Lake County, the CHP officer had Ossenberg exit the vehicle after he showed “outward signs” of being intoxicated, according to the report. Later, it was learned that Ossenberg”s blood alcohol level was .22, Anderson stated.
The officer then radioed the dispatcher requesting a warrant check and drivers license information, and when it was learned that Ossenberg had a no-bail felony warrant for his arrest, the officer requested assistance, the report states.
Upon hearing this information, Ossenberg grabbed the officer by the neck and threw her on the ground, then got on top of her and began trying to get her gun out of her holster, according to the report.
