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Podcast: The Leap
Episode:

Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Deputies Fatally Shoot Man
Category: Society & Culture
Duration: 00:00:00
Publish Date: 2025-10-28 18:27:55
Description:

Santa Clara County Sheriff’s deputies fatally shot a man they say charged at them with a knife, following a traffic stop and hourslong standoff in San José Monday night.

Around 7:30 p.m., sheriff’s deputies stopped a car near the intersection of Fruitdale Avenue and Leigh Avenue, near the city’s Rose Glen neighborhood.

“The driver immediately began behaving erratically and refused to comply with commands, barricading himself inside the car,” a Tuesday morning statement from the sheriff’s office said.

During a more than two-hour standoff, the sheriff’s office says deputies gave the man, who has not been identified, “repeated verbal commands and attempted to de-escalate the situation.” Members of the Sheriff’s Psychiatric Emergency Response Team were also called in to assist.

“When the driver continued to ignore all de-escalation efforts, deputies used several less-lethal tools and projectiles to prevent the use of deadly force,” the sheriff’s office said, but didn’t elaborate on what kind of weapons were used.

“Numerous attempts were made to slow the situation and bring it to a peaceful resolution,” the sheriff’s office said.

The man then exited the car armed with a knife and charged toward deputies, and “at least one deputy” fired on the man, the sheriff’s office said.

The deputies began life-saving efforts on the man as paramedics arrived, and he was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead at 10:16 p.m., the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office statement did not say what prompted the initial traffic stop, whether any other people were in the car or whether any deputies were injured. It also did not identify the deputies involved.

“Our personnel utilized every available resource to de-escalate the encounter safely and effectively in hopes of a peaceful resolution,” Sheriff Robert Jonsen said in the statement. “We recognize the profound gravity of any use-of-force incident. Our commitment remains steadfast to preserving life, ensuring the safety of our community, and upholding the integrity of our response.”

Jonsen is scheduled to hold a press conference at 2 p.m. Tuesday about the incident.

Because the shooting occurred in San José, the San José Police Department is leading the investigation, the sheriff’s office said. The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office will conduct an independent review of the incident.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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