A Rosamond man armed with a sword was shot by a Kern County Sheriff's deputy earlier this month after he reportedly ignored repeated commands to stop and advanced toward the officer while yelling “shoot” and “kill me.” The man, identified as Joshua Dribin, survived with non-life-threatening injuries and has since been booked on multiple felony charges tied to the confrontation.
The incident began just after 5:30 p.m. on September 3 when Kern County Sheriff's deputies responded to a reported peace disturbance at Desert Oasis Mobile Estates, in the 3300 block of 15th Street West in Rosamond, according to KFOX-TV. Dribin was confronted by a deputy after the disturbance call, and rather than complying with orders to stop, he allegedly approached the armed deputy while carrying the sword, prompting the deputy to open fire.
Deputies treated Dribin's injuries at the scene before he was transported to a hospital in Kern County, per the same report. No deputies or additional civilians were hurt in the shooting, the Kern County Sheriff's Office said.
Charges Evolve From Initial Attempted Murder Claims
Charges Evolve From Initial Attempted Murder Claims According to a Kern County Sheriff's Office release, Dribin was charged with assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer under Penal Code 245(c), along with resisting a peace officer using force, exhibiting a deadly weapon to resist arrest under Penal Code 417.8, and resisting or obstructing an officer.
The assault charge alone carries significant weight under California law. Penal Code 245(c) makes assaulting a peace officer with a deadly weapon other than a firearm a felony, with state prison exposure of three, four, or five years, according to a legal overview from Shouse California Law Group. The weapon-exhibiting charge covers displaying a weapon to resist arrest or detention and carries a potential two, three, or four years in state prison, per an explainer from Foundations of Law and Society.
Review Board Clears Deputy's Use of Force
On September 3, the sheriff's office Incident Review Board determined that the deputy's use of force during the shooting fell within departmental policy. Homicide detectives had responded to the scene and assumed the criminal investigation, which the sheriff's office submits to the Kern County District Attorney's Office for review, while the review board conducted a separate administrative evaluation, per the same sheriff's office release.
The sheriff's office describes the criminal investigation and administrative evaluation as separate tracks. The sheriff's office says it investigates every use of deadly force by a department member. Under California's Assembly Bill 748, agencies must publicly disclose critical-incident footage within 45 calendar days, subject to possible withholding, according to a policy explainer from Bbklaw.
The review comes as Kern County's sheriff's office operates under a multi-year stipulated judgment with the California Department of Justice. That judgment places the department under state oversight.
Part of a Broader Pattern in the County
The Rosamond shooting is not an isolated case for the department this year. In March, Kern County Sheriff's deputies were involved in another non-fatal shooting following a pursuit along Highway 178 in Onyx, where a barricaded driver reportedly pointed a weapon at deputies; an Incident Review Board similarly found that use of force within policy, according to GV Wire. The sheriff's office maintains transparency data on officer-involved shootings.
Rosamond itself is an unincorporated community in Kern County's Antelope Valley region, near the Los Angeles County line. The article does not detail the community's law-enforcement structure.
The sheriff's office is asking anyone with information about the incident to call Kern Secret Witness at 661-322-4040, or to reach investigators directly at 661-861-3110.
