Video: Homicide suspect fleeing San Jose cops when fatally shot

A 27yearold man killed by San Jose police officers on January 21 was running on a secondfloor balcony of an apartment complex when he was shot, a newly released video shows.

Police confronted David Tovar following months of investigations into an alleged crime spree spanning a large geographical swath of the South Bay. Tovar was a suspect in a homicide, three shootings, kidnapping and carjacking when officers tracked him to an apartment complex on La Pala Drive in San Jose.

“San Jose police officers joined a multiagency effort to connect the dots and apprehend a prolific and increasingly violent person victimizing the South Bay,” Sgt. Christian Camarillo said in a department video about the incident. He cited multiple forms of evidence linking Tovar to the alleged crimes, including fingerprints, DNA, cell phone and GPS data, surveillance videos and witness statements.

Police said that Tovar appeared to be holding something in his waistband as he ran and that he appeared to pull an object from his jacket, which officers assumed was the butt of a handgun, when they opened fire.

But Sajid Khan, a deputy public defender in San Jose, said he thinks the shooting was an unreasonable response because the man “clearly did not pose a threat to them,” was unarmed and running away.

He is calling on the Santa Clara County district attorney to “hold the police officers accountable for what appears to be an unjustified homicide.”

Bodyworn camera footage shows that within three seconds of spotting Tovar on the walkway and telling him to put his hands up, the three officers fired multiple rounds. They continued shouting commands at Tovar after he fell facedown.

The officers attempted lifesaving measures while waiting for paramedics, Camarillo said, adding that doctors pronounced Tovar dead at Regional Medical Center.

Officers searched Tovar after the shooting and found a screwdriver in his pocket and cell phone beside him — but no firearm.

According to Camarillo, the district attorney already has launched a criminal investigation of the incident, along with the San Jose police homicide unit.

The police internal affairs unit, San Jose city attorney and Office of the Independent Police Auditor are also monitoring the case, which is standard procedure for such events.

Khan said police could prioritize community safety and justice, even when confronting a potentially violent suspect. They could have devised a more methodical plan that would not have required shooting assault rifles in the courtyard of a residential building, he said.

The “critical incident community briefing video” that the San Jose Police Department released on March 5 includes footage from four body cameras, preceded by a description of the incident and a detailed accounting of Tovar’s suspected crimes.

Raj Jayadev, founder of the group Silicon Valley DeBug — a group that works with families of people killed by police officers — said the weapons and tactics used to kill Tovar represent an aggressive and hostile form of policing that activists say is unacceptable.

Even so, former San Jose police watchdog LaDoris Cordell said after watching the video that it would have been unreasonable for officers to let Tovar run away, considering his violent history.

Cordell noted that Tovar did not appear to pose an immediate threat to officers: “Why they had to kill him, as opposed to injure him, I don’t know nor do I understand,” she said.

David Tovar “clearly did not pose a threat to them,” was unarmed and running away.

Sajid Khan, a deputy public defender in San Jose