3rd Bay Area Killing by Police in 4 Days

Santa Clara cops shoot, kill motorist

OFFICERS OPEN FIRE AFTER MAN RAMS PATROL CAR

By Chuck Carroll

Mercury News

Santa Clara police officers shot and killed a motorist early today after he allegedly refused to pull over and then rammed a patrol car.

Police Lt. Jim Buchanan said that, as officers were processing the scene hours after a pedestrian was killed while trying to cross El Camino Real near Bowers Avenue, they spotted a vehicle driving erratically at about 12:12 a.m.

A marked patrol car with one officer inside tried to pull the vehicle over, but the driver of the older Dodge Dart wouldn't stop, Buchanan said. That officer was joined by two others in an unmarked police car as the driver moved into a residential neighborhood about two miles away, at Serra and Clara Vista avenues. When the Dodge rammed the marked car, officers opened fire on the suspect.

The suspect was killed, and an officer was treated for flying glass in his eyes. He remained unidentified this morning.

Buchanan released few details, saying the investigation was still in its early stages. The deceased suspect was described only as an adult male. The officers' names were being withheld, but Buchanan described them as veterans.

Buchanan said he did not know how many shots had been fired, how many officers fired their weapons or whether the suspect shot at the officers. He did not know if any of the officers or the suspect were out of their vehicles when the man was shot.

He said all three officers were being debriefed, after which they will be placed on paid administrative leave, as is routine in officer-involved shootings. The case will be investigated by the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, also a routine move.

The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner's Office said they weren't ready to release the deceased suspect's name or any other details about the shooting.

The last time Santa Clara police were involved in a fatal officer-involved shooting was on March 24, 2002. In that case, Officer Bryan Sterkel fatally wounded 31-year-old Frank Rodriguez on Benton Street after Rodriguez took a 6-year-old boy hostage at gunpoint in an effort to escape police. Although Rodriguez' family complained that police overreacted in using deadly force, a county grand jury cleared Sterkel.

Today's fatal pedestrian collision that preceded the unrelated shooting occurred at about 8:43 p.m. Police said 44-year-old James Earl Trisler of San Jose stepped off a raised median on El Camino Real between Bowers and Bowe avenues, both of which have marked crosswalks. Medical personnel found Trisler lying in the second lane from the left.

Police determined that Trisler, who had been on the median with a companion, was hit by a 2000 Green Honda Accord when he stepped into the far left lane. The impact sent him into the next lane to the right, where he was struck again by a silver 2003 Toyota Corolla.

Anyone with information about the traffic case is asked to call Officer Bob Dixon in the traffic unit at (408) 615-4763.