Dentist, 66, Fatally Shot After Chase by Police

Seven police officers opened fire on a pickup truck, killing a 66-year-old dentist after a high-speed chase and standoff that ended when the man allegedly tried to run down officers, authorities said.

All seven officers, now on administrative leave, fired at John Rozema outside the entrance to his home in the Mentone area. He died at the scene Monday night.

“The officers made every attempt to try to resolve the situation without injury to the suspect. But the actions of the suspect took those options away,” Redlands Police Chief Jim Bueermann said Tuesday.

Rozema, a longtime San Bernardino dentist who served 12 years as a volunteer member of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s Ranger Patrol, was unarmed.

Police began chasing Rozema’s 1998 Chevrolet pickup after he allegedly veered toward a member of the department’s Citizen’s Volunteer Patrol who was helping a stranded motorist.

The patrol followed Rozema, who again veered toward them, and police were called in, Bueermann said.

The chase continued through residential areas at speeds of up to 75 mph before Rozema stopped at the gated entrance to his home about 7:30 p.m. The pickup sat idling for six minutes while a supervisor tried to coax Rozema out of the truck, the chief said. Rozema was uncooperative, and police tried using a nonlethal beanbag fired from a shotgun to subdue him. But Rozema tried to ram the gate open and then sped backward toward police, Bueermann said.

The officers opened fire with shotguns and .45-caliber handguns. It was not known how many rounds struck Rozema.