- “The officers acted in lawful self-defense and defense of others after Keesler stabbed his father and then attempted to attack responding officers with a knife.” – Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton
MARTINEZ, CA – Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton announced Friday that no criminal charges will be filed against Concord police officers who fatally shot 47-year-old Nathan Lee Keesler during a violent struggle inside his parents’ home earlier this year. The DA’s office concluded that the officers acted in lawful self-defense and defense of others after Keesler stabbed his father and then attempted to attack responding officers with a knife.
The Feb. 18 shooting unfolded in less than half a minute, beginning with a desperate 911 call from Keesler’s mother shortly after 1:38 a.m. She told dispatchers her son was stabbing his father with a large kitchen knife and noted that he had a long history of mental illness and had previously been placed on a psychiatric hold.
When officers arrived minutes later, they found Keesler crouched over his father in the living room, repeatedly plunging a knife downward as his father lay helpless on the floor. Officers shouted for him to drop the weapon. Instead, investigators said, he kept stabbing.
Officer Roy Olson, the first to enter, fired three shots at Keesler, causing him to collapse forward. But Keesler held onto the knife, and when Olson tried to disarm him by kicking the weapon away, Keesler pushed himself up and swung the knife at Olson’s legs, narrowly missing him. At that point, multiple officers opened fire again. Even after being shot, Keesler tried to rise, clutching the knife and shifting his legs. Officers Olson and Sgt. Chris Souza fired additional rounds, finally bringing him down.
Paramedics pronounced Keesler dead at the scene. An autopsy later determined he died of multiple gunshot wounds.
Body-worn camera footage reviewed by investigators corroborated the officers’ accounts. In the footage, Olson can be heard shouting “Drop the knife” as Keesler stabs at his father. Seconds later, gunfire erupts, followed by more commands and another volley of shots as Keesler refuses to surrender the weapon.
The entire deadly encounter lasted approximately 24 seconds, according to the DA’s timeline.
Keesler’s father, identified in the report as “W1,” sustained multiple lacerations to his head and left bicep from the stabbing. He also suffered a gunshot wound to his right buttock when police bullets struck him while he was pinned beneath his son during the exchange of fire. Medical records showed the bullet injured his small bowel and bladder, but he survived after surgery.
The DA’s report said officers faced a rapidly evolving, life-threatening situation. “At this point, there was insufficient time to attempt any de-escalation tactics or issue any further commands,” the analysis noted. “The officers were thrust into an imminent, life-threatening situation where the use of lethal force was reasonably necessary to prevent Nathan Keesler from potentially stabbing his father to death”.
In interviews conducted by the DA’s investigators, the five involved officers described the confrontation as a split-second struggle to save Keesler’s father and themselves.
Olson, who fired the first rounds, said he believed Keesler was about to kill his father when he pulled the trigger. After Keesler slumped to the ground still clutching the knife, Olson said he tried to kick the weapon away but was forced to fire again when Keesler lashed out at him.
Souza told investigators he initially deployed his taser but it had no effect. “At this point, I believed I was in danger of being stabbed by Nathan Keesler and suffering bodily injury or death as a result,” Souza said. He then drew his firearm and fired about five rounds.
Corporal Daniel Padilla said he saw Keesler lunge toward his father with the knife even after being shot. Believing Keesler was going to kill him, Padilla said he fired two to three rounds. Officers David Rodriguez and Keny Rodriguez each recalled firing several shots as Keesler ignored commands to drop the weapon and continued to move toward his father and officers.
Keesler’s mother told investigators she had run from the house to call for help after seeing her son hold a knife above his father in a stabbing posture. She said her husband pleaded with Nathan to stop, telling him, “Think about what you are doing.” From outside, she could hear yelling and fighting over the knife before police entered.
She said her son’s mental health had been deteriorating in the hours before the incident, and that he appeared delusional and agitated. She told detectives she feared he might kill himself or hurt others.
Keesler’s father, interviewed briefly at the hospital before undergoing surgery, said he saw something in his son’s eyes just before the attack that made him realize “something bad was going to happen.” He described trying to grab his son’s wrist to keep him from stabbing but was quickly overwhelmed.
Other family members later declined further interviews with investigators.
The DA’s office said the legal question was whether any of the officers violated criminal law by using deadly force. Under California law, homicide by a peace officer is justifiable when committed in defense of life, provided the officer reasonably believes deadly force is necessary under the circumstances.
In its 34-page report, the DA’s office concluded that all five officers acted lawfully. “The officers reasonably believed [Keesler’s father], and the officers on scene, were in imminent danger of suffering great bodily injury; they reasonably believed the immediate use of force was necessary to defend against that danger; and they used no more force than was reasonably necessary under the circumstances.”
Becton said transparency was a key reason for publicly releasing the findings. “My pledge to the people of Contra Costa County has always been to prioritize public safety, transparency, and accountability. Our mission is to undertake a thorough investigation to determine criminal liability and then to communicate those findings in a clear and comprehensive public report,” she said in a statement.
Keesler’s father survived but required extensive medical treatment for both his stab wounds and the unintended gunshot injury. The report notes that individuals with mental illness are disproportionately involved in fatal encounters with police and that Keesler had previously been held on psychiatric grounds.
No charges will be filed against the involved officers—Olson, Souza, Padilla, David Rodriguez, and Keny Rodriguez—who the DA said responded to an exigent, life-threatening emergency with no time for alternatives.
The case, like others reviewed under Contra Costa County’s fatal incident protocol, will be closed with the finding that the officers’ actions were justified.
The DA’s report and full legal analysis can be read here.
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