Just after midnight on May 6, 2026, two Susanville Police officers responded to a welfare check that had already deteriorated before they left the parking lot.
Officers David Lee and KC Capron weren’t responding to a vague disturbance call. Before they ever reached the address, they knew Derek Sikong was erratic, believed to be on methamphetamine, and armed with a machete. They also knew there had been an earlier, unreported incident involving Sikong and one of the three children in that residence — an incident nobody had called in.
That context matters. It shaped every decision that followed.
What Happened
Sikong was on the second floor when Lee made contact from the ground. He appeared calm at first. Denied having weapons. Said the kids were asleep.
Then he hung a 2-year-old out the window.
He pulled the child back in, tucked him under his left arm, retrieved a machete with his right hand, and started slamming it into the wall and windowsill. Officers gave commands. He ignored them. Then he appeared to place the child on the floor in front of him, raised the machete above his head, and drove it downward toward where the child had just been set.
Lee fired two rounds through the window glass.
Both officers entered the residence. Sikong came down the stairs swinging. Lee crossed the threshold, raised his left arm, and took a machete strike that opened a 10-inch laceration requiring eight staples. Lee fired three rounds and fell backward out of the doorway. Capron deployed a less-lethal munition from his department-issued shotgun. Sikong stumbled, continued to swing the machete at the floor, then went down.
Lee immediately began rendering aid to the man who had just cut him. Capron went upstairs and found all three children — ages 2, 4, and 8 — unharmed in the bedroom. The 8-year-old was later forensically interviewed and corroborated what Lee had witnessed.
Sikong was shot in the left bicep and upper torso. He died at the scene despite life-saving efforts. Officer Lee was transported to the hospital, treated for the 10-inch laceration, and released.
The Legal Framework
Under Graham v. Connor (1989), use-of-force decisions are evaluated on three factors: the severity of the crime, whether the subject poses an immediate threat to officers or others, and whether the subject is actively resisting or evading.
All three factors were met before the first shot was fired.
Sikong was armed with an edged weapon. He had just driven a machete downward toward a 2-year-old. He was inside a confined structure with three children. There was no compliance. No de-escalation window. The threat was immediate and ongoing.
The Lassen County District Attorney reviewed the complete case file — bodycam footage, physical evidence, witness statements, and the forensic interview of the 8-year-old — and found no criminal liability. The actions of both officers were lawful.
That determination is correct.
Tactical Assessment
The initial engagement — Lee firing two rounds through the window glass at the moment Sikong brought the machete down toward the child — was sound. The threat was visible, imminent, and directed at a 2-year-old. The decision was made under extreme time pressure with maximum stakes. Nothing to criticize there.
The breach is where things get harder.
When Lee crossed the threshold, he was moving into a fatal funnel against an armed, non-compliant subject descending a staircase. Stairwell approaches are among the most dangerous dynamics in close-quarters work. The officers had a tough time getting that door open. I’m guessing there isn’t a lot of door breeching training in their department, but maybe there should be.
Lee took a 10-inch gash to the arm, fired three rounds, and didn’t stop until the threat was down. Then he started rendering aid. That’s a man doing the job under the worst possible conditions.
Capron’s deployment of less-lethal after Sikong was down but still gripping the machete was a good call — measured force proportionate to continued weapon retention without an active attack.
The Bottom Line
Officer Lee — 10-inch laceration, eight staples, treated and released. Derek Sikong — shot in the left bicep and upper torso, died at the scene. Three children, ages 2, 4, and 8 — unharmed.
Two officers showed up to a welfare check with prior knowledge of a dangerous subject and children in immediate peril. One of them took a machete to the arm and still rendered aid to the man who cut him.
The DA got this right. The law was followed. The children are alive.
