Slain man threw knife at officers after killing police dog

Man suspected of stabbing his girlfriend flung knife at officers

SUNNYVALE >> A man shot and killed by police Tuesday stabbed his girlfriend and fatally wounded a police dog named Jax before he threw a butcher knife at officers, according to the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety.

Police said the confrontation marked the first time in department history one of its police dogs was killed in the line of duty.

“It’s a huge loss,” said Chief Phan Ngo. “(Jax) was a family member, and his void will always be felt. He will always be in our hearts.”

Wednesday, Sunnyvale police commanders detailed the violent episode that ended in the city’s first officer-involved shooting since 2015. It began with a report of a stabbing called in around 1 p.m. Tuesday at the upscale Encasa apartment complex on East Weddell Drive off Fair Oaks Avenue.

Officers arrived to find a 25-yearold woman suffering from a stab wound to her abdomen, and she told them that her boyfriend attacked her during an argument and that he was still inside a nearby apartment.

Police said the contingent of responding officers, including K-9 Officer Stephen Eckford and Jax, and Lt. Emmett Larkin, tried several times to get the man, 25-year-old Jesus Birelas-Contreras, to surrender peacefully.

When that failed, the officers sent in Jax to subdue and apprehend Birelas-Contreras, but the suspect severely wounded the dog with a knife, police said. At some point, the officers retrieved Jax and brought him to safety, after which he was taken to an animal hospital.

About 18 minutes into the standoff, as they continued trying to coax Birelas-Contreras into surrendering, he threw a 6-inch butcher knife

at the officers, Ngo said.

That prompted Larkin to open fire with his service weapon, striking the suspect at least once. Birelas-Contreras was rushed to the hospital, where he died. Jax died from his wounds the same evening.

Ngo said the woman who had been stabbed was taken to the hospital where she was treated and released.

“We’re treating this as a domestic-violence (case) because of the general nature of their relationship,” Ngo said.

Birelas-Contreras’ criminal background was not immediately available Wednesday, but a cursory search of Santa Clara County court records shows more than 20 criminal cases associated with his name and birth date.

Jax, a 4-year-old German Shepherd, had served for two years in Sunnyvale, and had 26 arrests to his credit, Ngo said. He leaves three surviving dogs in the department’s K-9 unit. Eckford, Jax’s handler, was not made available for comment Wednesday.

A memorial service is being planned for Jax.

Larkin was placed on paid administrative leave while the police department conducts an investigation monitored by the District Attorney’s Office, which is routine after officer-involved shootings in the county.