About two minutes before killing Valerie Cadwallader last year, Butte County sheriff’s deputy Tyler Dentinger was informed by another deputy that the ranting Cadwallader might be holding a pellet gun.
“The information we have from a person on scene is that it’s possibly a .177 air rifle,” the deputy says in a radio transmission captured on Dentinger’s body-worn camera. At the time, Dentinger was crouched behind the open driver’s side door of his patrol SUV pointing an AR-15-style rifle in the direction of the 48-year-old Cadwallader, who was in mental crisis.
Heavily redacted body-worn camera videos from seven deputies at the incident, long withheld by the Sheriff’s Office, were released to this reporter May 7 — 364 days after Cadwallader’s killing. The videos provide more detail on what took place prior to her death, and mostly confirmed one eyewitness’s recollection of the incident, as told to ChicoSol.
The eyewitness account came from Brian Marklund, whose pellet rifle Cadwallader was pointing on May 8, 2025, when she was killed with a single round from Dentinger’s rifle.
More than a year after the killing, Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea and District Attorney Mike Ramsey still have released only scant information about Cadwallader’s death and no records beyond the body-worn camera videos in which officers’ faces have been blurred to hide their identities. Neither public official responded to multiple requests for a response to Marklund’s version of events.
Dentinger’s killing of Cadwallader marked the third time he has pulled a trigger intending to shoot someone during his 10-year career as a Butte County sheriff’s deputy.
In 2019, Dentinger was one of nine deputies who shot a total of 63 rounds in killing Richard Moulton, who was accused of pointing a handgun at deputies. Even though he told investigators he could not see Moulton’s hands, Dentinger fired his handgun six times after other deputies began shooting.
Seth Stoughton, who directs the Excellence in Policing & Public Safety Program at the University of South Carolina, described Dentinger’s action as “contagious gunfire.” Stoughton said contagious shooting is generally not sufficient justification for intentionally using deadly force.
In addition, newly released records by the Sheriff’s Office also reveal that Dentinger, in April 2024, about a year before he killed Cadwallader, tried to shoot a domestic violence suspect, but his gun failed to fire. The suspect, Jason Sampson, was pointing a handgun at his own head in a Chico-area parking lot when Dentinger pulled the trigger. By the time Dentinger chambered another round, he no longer considered Sampson a threat and did not attempt to fire a second time. Sampson was later wounded by another deputy after climbing into a Chico Police Department patrol vehicle.
A Pew Research Center study found that nearly three of four police officers never fire a gun during their careers.
Timeline preceding Cadwallader’s death
Collectively, the recently released videos provide a timeline on deputies’ actions preceding Cadwallader’s death. Of the seven videos, only Dentinger’s is identified by name. The other six are numbered to obscure officer identities.
Videos show that “Deputy 6” was first to respond to Marklund’s Butte Creek Canyon property, arriving at 2:46 p.m., 25 minutes before the shooting. Deputy 6, who had dealt with Cadwallader previously, was surprised to see her waving what appeared to be a rifle from a distance he estimated on the video to be 100 yards away. Once he learned Cadwallader might be holding a pellet gun, Deputy 6 exchanged his rifle for a gun that shoots less-lethal rubber bullets and tried to talk Cadwallader into dropping the rifle.
“I don’t want you to get hurt anymore,” Deputy 6 told her. “I know you’ve been hurt over and over again. I don’t want you to get hurt anymore. … We’re on your side. Let us help you out, please.”
Cadwallader continued to rant.
Marklund, arriving to his property about five minutes after Deputy 6, was surprised she had a rifle and said it was possibly his “single-pump” .177 air rifle.
The heavily redacted body-worn camera videos, released in response to a Public Records Act request, are the subject, along with numerous other records, of an ongoing court case that is now at the appellate level. They are consistent with the account of Marklund — except on one point.
Marklund’s recollection several months after the killing was that deputies had confirmed with a drone that Cadwallader was holding Marklund’s pellet rifle. In fact, as deputies were about to launch a drone for that purpose, they heard Dentinger’s gunshot. They then used the drone to view her condition in high grass before sending in medics.
Dentinger’s body-worn camera video shows him arriving at the entrance of Marklund’s next-door-neighbor’s driveway about five minutes before he killed Cadwallader. After grabbing his rifle, Dentinger drove his SUV up the driveway and appeared somewhat closer to Cadwallader than the distance maintained by deputies on Marklund’s property.
Dentinger and Deputy 6 “weren’t on the same page, or team,” said Marklund.
Dentinger took cover with his rifle behind the open driver’s door, while “Deputy 4” was positioned behind the open passenger’s door. At 3:11 p.m., the yelling Cadwallader pointed her gun toward them.
“Stop pointing it!” yells Dentinger. “Stop pointing it!”
“Lower the rifle!” yells Deputy 4. “Lower the rifle now!”
Two seconds later, Dentinger shoots Cadwallader in the chest and kills her. Deputy 4, with a view similar to Dentinger’s, did not pull his trigger, nor did any other deputy.
Multiple deputies were uncertain after hearing the gunshot whether it had come from a deputy or Cadwallader, according to the videos.
Given Cadwallader’s mental condition and incoherent yelling, which can be heard on videos, it is questionable whether she heard the pleas from Deputy 6 or the orders from Dentinger and Deputy 4.
Dave Waddell is a contributor to ChicoSol.
10 Comments
Mental patients having a crisis need to fear for their lives, the days of hostage negotiations (waiting out the threat) and now active shooter training (quickly eliminate the threat) is the prevailing tactic.
This is why there needs to be intense management of mental health crisis training. The need to shoot her in the chest is extreme . She could have been disabled with a lesser aim. She had not shot the air rifle yet. The fact that the other deputies held fire is telling. The officer who knew her and had dealt with her before should have been point man.
I’ve never had to fear law enforcement, until I moved to Butte County. I’ve never been arrested and thought citizens arrest was not real,until I moved here. I managed a few homes for mentally/non mentally challenged clients. Would never believe in corruption and yet Ive witness it.
There have been 10 people with issues killed by excessive force, since I moved here 12yrs ago. Continue to investigate and inform people. No one is above the law and yet it’s Butte County
Equally disturbing to the repeat murders by Dentinger is the Butte County and DA suppressing the information to the press. If it was legit, there would be transparency. “Heavily redacted body-worn camera videos from seven deputies at the incident, long withheld by the Sheriff’s Office, were released to this reporter May 7 — 364 days after Cadwallader’s killing. The videos provide more detail on what took place prior to her death, and mostly confirmed one eyewitness’s recollection of the incident, as told to ChicoSol.”
Mary Kay Benson, please note that a court order was required for the District Attorney to comply with the law and release records in this case. In this incident, a deputy used lethal force against a woman with known mental health issues. This use of lethal force appears unnecessary and raises serious concerns about the response to individuals in crisis. Ms. Cadwallader needed assistance, not a bullet to the chest. Families deserve assurance that their loved ones experiencing mental health crises will receive appropriate tactics by “peace officers.”
It appears the good people of Butte County have to change the culture within Butte County law enforcement leadership. Leaders seem to support the use of lethal force before considering less lethal alternatives, with the expectation of support from the District Attorney. The heavily edited body camera footage raises questions about transparency and accountability. Requiring a journalist to sue Butte County for public records suggests the District Attorney is not prioritizing legal compliance or the interests of the family, the deceased, or the taxpayer!
Thank you for the extra info.
Thank you, Scott Rushing. Thank you, Chico Sol. And thank you to all who continue efforts to change the culture within Butte County’s law enforcement “leadership”.
If you have something in your hands that looks like a rifle, and you do not drop it when repeatedly ordered by police, you will get shot.
Your mental condition is irrelevant.
Norm, the mental condition of the “peace officer” is the issue that should. The officers present knew Ms. Cadwallader had a history of mental illness. If she were an imminent threat, why didn’t all the “peace officers” present fire their AR15s at her? A lethal shot to the chest shows time was taken to aim and fire. It was not a “split second decision” made in a chaotic moment.
Don’t you think it would be reasonable that before ending the life of Ms. Cadwallader, the shooter, Dentinger, who has a history of using lethal force, should have been given permission to fire away at her from the “peace officer” in charge at the scene?
Sadly nothing will change until Ramsey is gone. We are still waiting for justice for Desmond Phillips and Tyler Rushing. It almost seems as if CPD shoots those in mental crisis for sport. I’ve lived in many places and seen a lot of LEO bad behavior. However nothing compares to CPD.