San Jose police officers shot and killed a man Saturday afternoon following a high speed pursuit in which the suspect rammed at least three marked police cars, a police spokesman said.
The suspect was first spotted driving alone near Union and South Bascom avenues in San Jose just after 2:30 p.m. by an officer patrolling the
The officer, who was patrolling due to a recent increase in burglaries in the area, thought the vehicle looked suspicious and attempted to make a traffic stop. However, the suspect immediately took off at a high rate of speed, Morales said.
The officer let the suspect go at that point without a pursuit, because there was no actual crime.
However, he continued to patrol the area and a short time later, the suspect reappeared and drove directly at the officer, allegedly ramming his marked cruiser, Morales said.
The officer and other police pursued the suspect on to southbound state Highway 85 at high speeds.
The initial officer had to drop out of the pursuit due to damage to his vehicle, but before he did stated that the suspect appeared to be pointing something like a firearm in his direction, Morales said.
During the pursuit, officers and civilians report seeing the suspect flinging things out of the car windows as he drove on the freeway.
In addition, at some point in the pursuit the suspect appears to have struck two additional marked police cars, Morales said.
The pursuit ended on Blossom Avenue near Gettysburg Drive when the suspect stopped because his left rear wheel was severely damaged.
The suspect exited the vehicle, but officers opened fire because they thought that he was concealing something and perceived a threat, Morales said.
Two officers fired and struck the suspect, and he was declared dead at the scene.
Police have not located a weapon at the scene but are still canvassing the stretch of freeway where the suspect was seen discarding items, Morales said.
The public has returned some items that were discarded, including a woman's purse and a bag full of baseball bats.
Police are also investigating whether the car the suspect was driving was an unreported stolen vehicle, Morales said.
The officers involved in the shooting will be put on leave pending an investigation, as is standard procedure in such incidents, Morales said.
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His Jane Doe: Police don't and can't shoot to "wing" anyone. They must shoot center mass, in order to stop the threat that led them to shoot. Compassion has nothing to do with it. If someone poses an immediate threat of death or serious injury to someone else, a police officer has a duty to stop that threat. It's a split second decision to use deadly force or not, that they train for on a regular basis. You're right the police must be held accountable for their decisions, and we must not jump to conclusions until the investigation has happened and all of the facts are known.
@Kristalina Use proper grammar. You don't even understand or know what happened. The suspect made movements as if he had and was reaching for a firearm. You know what its called when they are justified in taking out their gun to protect themselves and others around them? Its called Officer Safety. It wasn't the police's fault for shooting the suspect, it was the suspect's fault. If he hadn't been reaching around his waist and making movements as if he was going to pull out a firearm, he never would've been shot. Kristalina, you don't know anything about criminal justice and how the police do their job. Also, you're saying that the man should be in the suspect's shoes? Why should they? You want them to be a reckless driver, run stop signs, endanger other drivers, ram other vehicles and act as if he/she is carrying a weapon? The police had every right in shooting the suspect. I actually took a class on Law Enforcement and know that these police officers were actually protecting us and doing their job. This suspect deserved to be shot by what he did in the end. @sandy No firearm was found but the police were clearly justified in shooting the suspect for making movements as if he was reaching for a weapon.