Detective who shot Modesto senior armed with knife identified

Modesto police have released the name of the detective involved in the shooting of a suspect during a sex-crime arrest Thursday afternoon.

Detective Steven Anderson, a 12-year veteran of the Modesto Police Department, was the officer who shot a 68-year-old man inside his central Modesto residence, according to Lt. Rick Armendariz.

About 2:30 p.m., Anderson and a uniformed patrol officer went to a home in the 1200 block of Muirswood Way to follow up on a felony sex-crime investigation.

Officers went to the house to arrest the suspect, who was home alone. After they contacted him, police said, the suspect armed himself with a knife.

Armendariz said Anderson responded to the threat by discharging his firearm, hitting the suspect. The man was treated on the scene, then transported to a local hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery.

The suspect's name is not being released until he is formally booked into Stanislaus County Jail. He remains in critical but stable condition.

The Bee went to the suspect's home Friday, but no one answered the door.

Anderson is assigned to the department's Special Victims Unit, which investigates domestic violence, crimes against children and sexually based crimes.

Three investigations

As part of standard protocol with officer-involved shootings, three separate and independent investigations have been launched into the incident. The Police Department is conducting a criminal investigation, the Stanislaus County district attorney's office is conducting an independent criminal review of the officers' actions, and the Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit is conducting an administrative investigation.

Neither of the officers was injured during the incident. Anderson is on paid administrative leave, which also is standard procedure after an officer-involved shooting.

Bee staff writer Marijke Rowland can be reached at mrowland@modbee.com or (209) 578-2284.