Police ID man they shot at Fresno gas station. He stabbed a clerk, pepper sprayed cops

Thaddeus Miller
·2 min read

Fresno police Monday identified a man officers shot last week after he stabbed a store clerk and advanced on the officers, according to police.

Samuel Douglas Davidson-Rollin, 44, remained in critical condition on Monday at Community Regional Medical Center after being shot by two officers on Thursday, police said in an update.

The store clerk who was stabbed was also transported to an area hospital for serious injuries, police said. He was expected to survive, according to the latest update.

Police said Davidson-Rollins stabbed the store clerk inside a gas station after the clerk told the man to leave the property at Bullard Avenue and Figarden Drive after midnight on Thursday.

Davidson-Rollins, who police said was unhoused, stabbed the clerk in the back multiple times before leaving the scene, police said.

With the help of a helicopter overhead, police tracked him down about a block northeast of the gas station.

Five officers were at the scene and gave Davidson-Rollins commands to surrender before he sprayed two with pepper spray, police said.

The man then moved aggressively while holding a knife, according to police Chief Paco Balderrama, towards officers before two fired an unspecified number of rounds.

A gas station and church were blocked off Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, while police investigated the scene where a Fresno police officer shot a man.
A gas station and church were blocked off Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, while police investigated the scene where a Fresno police officer shot a man.

Police have not named the officers involved in the shooting.

One of the officers had about four years with Fresno police while the other has been on the force for about 11 months, Balderrama said. Both were placed on administrative leave, which is typical.

The man was later determined to be wielding a 4-inch fixed-blade knife, which Balderrama said was illegal. Davidson-Rollins was also carrying three other knives.

Police said Davidson-Rollins was believed to suffer from mental illness.

Fresno County court records show he was cited in 2018 for intentional obstructing a business after being asked to leave.

The officers were treated for pepper spray injuries but not transported to the hospital, according to police.

The incident was caught on police body-worn cameras and a helicopter video, police said.

The shooting marked the fifth officer-involved shooting so far this year, according to archives. Two of those have been fatal.

There were six shootings by Fresno police at the same time last year, and three at the same time in 2021, police said.

A gas station and church were blocked off Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, while police investigated the scene where a Fresno police officer shot a man.
A gas station and church were blocked off Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, while police investigated the scene where a Fresno police officer shot a man.
A Fresno officer collects evidence Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, at the scene where an officer shot a man wielding a knife and pepper spray about a block east of Figarden Drive on Bullard Avenue.
A Fresno officer collects evidence Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, at the scene where an officer shot a man wielding a knife and pepper spray about a block east of Figarden Drive on Bullard Avenue.