By Khalida Sarwari
A man who was fatally shot Tuesday by a San Jose police officer on a property in unincorporated Santa Clara County near San Jose was allegedly threatening a man with knives prior to the shooting, according to a sheriff’s spokesman.
Two San Jose police officers, a police sergeant, and a sheriff’s deputy responded to a home in the 4000 block of Higuera Road around 12:40 p.m. Tuesday after two people called 911 to report a suspicious man in his 50s holding a pair of 4- to 5-inch blade knives, sheriff’s Sgt. Rick Sung said.
Sung said the suspect was first spotted by a contractor working in the area who assumed he was a burglar because he was loitering near a trailer where some of the contractor’s construction tools had been stolen recently.
When the contractor and two other workers confronted the man, he allegedly threatened to harm him with the knives, Sung said.
The contractor backed away and got into his car as the suspect started running away towards a ravine, Sung said. He called 911 to report the incident while following the man in his car down the narrow and rugged ravine near the Higuera Road home.
The contractor then ran up the hill, knocked on the front door of the home and told the homeowner to call 911, Sung said.
When authorities arrived, they negotiated for about 10 to 15 minutes with the suspect, who was in a creek bed, ordering him to drop the knives, and to come out and talk with them, Sung said.
“He did not comply with the officers’ lawful orders,” Sung said.
In an effort to disarm the man, the police sergeant deployed his Taser, but for an unknown reason, it did not seem to affect him. Sung said he allegedly pulled out the Taser barbs and flung them at the sergeant.
Holding both knives in one hand over his head, the suspect then allegedly charged at the sergeant and attempted to stab him, just missing him. At that time, a police officer discharged his firearm multiple times and fatally shot the suspect.
He was struck four times and was pronounced dead at the scene, Sung said. His name was still not being released as of this morning.
The officer has been identified as Geeno Gular, a 17-year veteran of the San Jose Police Department.
The sheriff’s office is continuing to investigate the shooting, and the suspect’s mental condition is one of the factors being considered, Sung said.