Christmas Officer-Involved Fatal Shooting Explained By SJ Chief

SAN JOSE, CA -- City police Chief Eddie Garcia expressed remorse and explained the circumstances Thursday leading up to an officer-involved shooting that killed one San Jose woman and injured another on Christmas Day.

The gunfire and high-speed chase that morning ended with the death of Jennifer Vasquez, 24, of San Jose and arrest of Linda Bueno, 28 San Jose, who was booked into Santa Clara County Jail for an active misdemeanor bench warrant for suspicion of possession of drug paraphernalia.

"I am saddened to be here this afternoon to describe a tragic event that occurred early Christmas morning. My sincere condolences to the Vasquez family for their loss. Tragedies and loss of life beg for a reason and can lead us to search for a narrative that defies the outcome," Garcia said during a press conference. "But I ask that we not imagine a picture of these events that excludes realities of those involved or what really happened."

Garcia made the case that the suspect fleeing officers had used a "stolen vehicle as a deadly weapon as they tried to escape." He described an unfortunate tragic result of an incident that could have ended differently if the suspects were less aggressive about fleeing and appearing to try to hurt officers in the process.

However, supporters of Vasquez had a different version of the account, calling it "an unjustified murder," according to Bay City News. Her parents, Maria and Jose, spoke with Garcia after the news conference. The family has created a donation page to raise money for funeral expenses at https://www.gofundme.com/jennifer-vasquez.

Police officers responded to a call at 2:09 a.m. to Story Road and Clemence Avenue and found two people shot. When officers were flagged down by a nearby resident pointing to a getaway vehicle matching a description of the suspects' as a white Toyota Camry, a pursuit ensued while officers closing in on the suspects learned they were riding in a stolen vehicle.

"A supervisor advised over the radio that this shooting was possibly related to an earlier shooting in another part of the city in which similar shotgun shells were found at the scene," Garcia dictated.

The seven-minute pursuit ended in the suspects crashing into a fence at Fruitdale and Leigh avenues with what's reported as a stolen vehicle, police said. The suspect driver "refused to obey the officers’ commands to surrender and began to maneuver the Toyota back and forth in an attempt to dislodge it from the fence," Garcia added. When the vehicle was freed, the suspects aimed the car at the officers' patrol car, prompting them to begin firing. Both the driver and passenger were hit, with the former dying. The passenger was transported to the hospital. She was later taken into custody on an outstanding arrest warrant.

No officers were injured. All four had activated their body cameras for the entirety of the incident, the chief said.

"After further investigation, we do not believe it was the same vehicle involved in the shooting, and no weapon was located inside the Toyota. However, knowing that it matched the description at the approximate time of the shooting, was a stolen vehicle and the individual was so desperate to get away, all further led the officers to believe it had been involved in the shooting," Garcia explained. "Officers must respond and react only with the information they have at the time."

The involved officers were placed on routine paid administrative leave. The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office and the San Jose Police Department’s Homicide Unit are conducting a joint criminal investigation. The case is being monitored by the San Jose Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit, the City Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Independent Police Auditor.

With advisement from Silicon Valley De-bug, the family is asking the police department for six demands, Bay City News reported. The family wants Vasquez's body released to them from law enforcement, for Garcia to report the amount of times she was shot and all video and audio footage from the shooting. BCN also reported the demands also include a U.S. Department of Justice investigation, an independent investigation and for Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen to file charges against the officers involved.

The police chief insisted a thorough investigation will take time to complete and indicated further regret that if a routine traffic stop would have occurred: "This shooting would not have occurred, and this tragic Christmas would have ended differently."

--Images courtesy of San Jose Police Department