By Khalida Sarwari
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate a deputy-involved shooting in Saratoga on Dec. 10 in which a Sunnyvale man was killed after he allegedly struck a deputy with a metal spike, a department spokesman said.
The man has been identified as 43-year old Brandon Marshall, sheriff’s Sgt. Kurtis Stenderup said.
A deputy fatally shot the man shortly after noon outside an office building at McFarland and Saratoga avenues, Stenderup said.
Just minutes prior to the shooting, two deputies, along with Santa Clara County Fire Department and Santa Clara County EMS, responded to a report of a “distressed” male who was possibly suicidal in the 12000 block of Saratoga Avenue, Stenderup said. The call was made by someone inside the office building, but how the man was associated with the building is not yet known, Stenderup said.
When the deputies arrived and started conversing with the man, he suddenly became agitated and pulled out a 5½-inch metal spike and attacked one of the deputies, Stenderup said.
The man allegedly hit the deputy with the spike in the arm at least once. Fearing for his life, one deputy fired one round and struck the man once in the chest, according to Stenderup. He said he did not know what the distance was between the man and the deputy.
The man allegedly continued to be “combative” and had to be restrained before fire personnel and paramedics could render first aid. He was eventually taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died. Stenderup said he did not know the time of his death.
The two deputies were treated at a hospital for injuries they sustained during the confrontation with the man. They were subsequently interviewed about the shooting, along with the firefighters and EMS personnel that were involved, said Stenderup.
The deputy who fired his weapon was Deputy Aldo Groba, a 14-year veteran of the sheriff’s office. Groba has been placed on administrative leave. The second deputy, who wasn’t identified, has been with the sheriff’s office for 11 years.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office is monitoring the investigation.
Anyone who may have witnessed the incident is asked to contact the sheriff’s office homicide investigators at 408.808.4431.
Investigation into deputy-involved shooting in Saratoga is continuing
