Police: Retired cop threatened boy
Ex-prep coach, angered at prank, accused of making gun warning
A retired San Francisco police officer is facing a raft of felony charges for allegedly threatening to “put a bullet” in an 11-year-old boy in San Rafael.
Dean Taylor, who is also a former coach at San Rafael High School, was arraigned in Marin County Superior Court on Thursday. Taylor pleaded not guilty through his defense attorney.
Taylor, a 63-year-old San Rafael resident, is free on bail. The prosecution requested, and Judge Geoffrey Howard approved, a restraining order barring Taylor from contact with the alleged victim.
The judge also ordered Taylor to surrender his guns.
San Rafael police arrested Taylor on Friday in the Point San Pedro Road neighborhood, where someone had been ringing doorbells and running away. Police learned a group of boys was connected with the prank.
One of the residents allegedly chased the boys in a vehicle, cut off one of the youths and emerged from the car. Then he allegedly grabbed the boy by the neck, pushed him to the ground and forced him into the car, said San Rafael police Lt. Dan Fink.
The driver allegedly told the boy that he would “put a bullet in his head” if the prank happened again, Fink said. The driver allegedly dropped the boy off near Point San Pedro Road and Loch Lomond Drive, and the boy ran for help.
Police received 911 calls from
a parent of the boy and an independent witness who saw the confrontation. Police identified the suspect as Taylor, who lives in the neighborhood.
“Taylor answered his door and immediately asked the officers if they were there because of the kids,” Fink said. “Taylor told officers that the kids had rang his doorbell at least four times prior and he was fed up. He said that he waited for the next time and when it happened he went out and chased the group of kids.”
Taylor denied grabbing the child’s neck and threatening to shoot him.
Police booked Taylor into the county jail on suspicion of kidnapping and making a death threat. Taylor posted bail.
On Tuesday, the Marin County District Attorney’s Office filed charges of kidnapping, criminal threats, false imprisonment, battery and child endangerment.
After the arraignment on Thursday, Taylor’s lawyer, Anthony Brass, said he is still waiting for the police reports in the case.
“I can tell you that Dean Taylor served honorably with the San Francisco Police Department for 34 years, achieving the rank of inspector for the last seven years of his career,” Brass said. “He has been a contributing member of his community in San Rafael, where he raised his sons, and volunteered as a coach at San Rafael High.”
“On the night in question, Mr. Taylor found himself at home recovering from a recent very painful surgery, while he was subjected to yet another night of interrupted sleep due to teens pounding on his door as a form of prank,” Brass said. “Needless to say, this event is an aberration for Mr. Taylor, a man with a spotless record who was home minding his own business struggling with his painful recovery.”
Taylor was a paid coach for boys’ and girls’ golf at San Rafael High School from 2018 until his resignation on Tuesday, said Christina Perrino, a spokeswoman for the school district. He also coached junior varsity boys’ basketball in 2017, Perrino said.