Pleasant Hill top cop defends tactics in standoffs with ex-Pittsburg officer

PLEASANT HILL, Calif. - Pleasant Hill Police Chief Scott Vermillion on Monday defended his decisions relating to two standoffs involving an ex-Pittsburg police detective accused of shooting and injuring his wife.

"We really believed if we would have done anything else, other than use time, there would have been loss of life, and at the end of it, we were able to avoid that," Vermillion said.

Vermillion stood behind his decision to remove the SWAT team and leave ex-Det. Chunliam Saechao alone in his house after authorities say he had shot and injured his wife. 

"Our adversary that night had military combat training, he was an ex-law enforcement officer," said the chief, himself a former SWAT officer. "That was his ultimate goal, was to kill law enforcement and die by law enforcement.

The chief says police didn’t believe Saechao was a threat to the public at first. But that changed when he says Saechao made threats online after the police left.

In one post on X, police say Saechao wrote "I will not comply with any foolish laws. If I feel threatened then I will kill you. When I die I know I will be in heaven so it is OK."

The top cop says posts such as those made clear the SWAT team had to be redeployed. That led to a second standoff until the Marine veteran surrendered early Saturday morning - but not before police say he fired 30 rounds from an assault weapon from inside his home over the course of two hours, striking an armored SWAT vehicle.

Saechao’s house sits near the only way in and out of the Sherman Acres neighborhood. Residents could walk or drive past his house in between the two standoffs.

"Imagine if a UPS truck, Girl Scout happened to walk up to his house. That would have been a disaster," says resident Anthony Saldivar, adding the police never should have left in the first place.

"Them deciding it was not a risk was putting my family in danger, which I don’t appreciate," Saldivar said. "I think it was a mistake." 

But police practices expert Don Cameron, a former police officer, says the tactics were sound.

"I think it’s still a good call by the chief," Cameron said. "You want to see if you can cool things down, and that’s what the de-escalation is, letting things cool down."

The chief says police and snipers were still in the area – although out of sight-  and monitoring the social media of a suspect who is ultimately to blame. 

"He threatened my officers, he tried to kill my officers, the fact that he’s an officer or an ex-officer makes me angry," Vermillion said.

Pleasant Hill Mayor Matt Rinn said he supported the department's decision-making, saying in a statement in part, "The srategies employed had the desired effect, as Mr. Saechou did voluntarily surrender himself into custody in a manner that safeguarded himself, the neighborhood, and the law enforcement officers on scene."

Saechao is being held without bail on numerous counts of attempted murder of police officers and assault.

Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan