Man injured in officer-involved shooting in Fresno

A 47-year-old man is in stable condition after a confrontation led a Fresno police officer to shoot at him three times, striking him in the shoulder, Fresno police Chief Jerry Dyer said Saturday evening.

Officers went to the complex at 3340 E. Dakota Ave. about 5:30 p.m. Friday after getting a call about a suicidal man with a gun reportedly holding a woman against her will. They found that she was not being held.

Police learned that the man, identified as Sean Pottorff, was an ex-felon, but they decided not to force a confrontation at the apartment. Instead, they returned Saturday to arrest him on a probation violation and to look for the reported firearm.

“They used a ruse to draw the individual out of the apartment,” Dyer said.

Officers confronted the man about 50 yards from the apartment, Dyer said. He pulled out a .45-caliber handgun, put it to his own head and demanded that officers back away.

Dyer said officers pleaded with him for 10 minutes to put the gun down. He retreated to his apartment; when he got close, one officer used his stun gun on him.

The man reached down and pulled the leads out with his free hand.

Another officer used a stun gun on him, and that’s when the man pointed his gun toward the officers.

“One of the officers fired his handgun three times, striking the suspect in the shoulder,” Dyer said.

The man was arrested on a probation violation, being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm and and assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer.

This is the fourth officer-involved shooting in Fresno this month.

This story was originally published September 19, 2015 at 7:27 PM with the headline "Man injured in officer-involved shooting in Fresno."