Man who exchanged gunfire with police dies
SAN JOSE >> Four police officers and a 32-year-old man who attempted a carjacking exchanged gunfire before Robert Seth Carter was fatally wounded Jan. 19, according to San Jose’s police chief.
The fatal shooting was captured on the body-worn cameras of the officers and a police helicopter that had been tracking Carter, Chief Anthony Mata said in a Jan. 21 news conference at police headquarters. Carter fired first, in the direction of an officer who approached him; officers fired at him as he held a handgun. Carter was hit multiple times and was taken to a local hospital, where he later died.
A handgun was recovered at the scene that police believe is a ghost gun, which are privately made, unregistered and untraceable, police said. Carter was barred from possessing any firearm due to felony convictions, had five felony warrants for his arrest and was on probation for battery.
Police said the videos will be released about 45 days from Jan. 19, when the shooting occurred.
The incident began at about 6 p.m. when police said their helicopter located a Toyota Camry, that previously was reported stolen, in the area of Story and King Roads. The driver of the Camry, later identified as San Jose resident Carter, saw a patrol cars and fled the scene, “driving erratically” in opposing lanes of traffic, police said.
Officers followed Carter in a police helicopter from the air and saw him drive northbound on Highway 280 toward downtown San Jose before exiting on the Alameda and into Santa Clara, Mata said. Carter was driving southbound on Monroe Street when he pulled up to a parked car with a person inside, who had the driver’s-side door open. Police said Carter approached and pointed a gun at the driver, who then exited the car and ran away as Carter got into the vehicle. Video from the helicopter showed it appeared to be an attempted carjacking and officers said the victim confirmed what they had seen from the helicopter.
Carter wasn’t able to drive off in the car, abandoned it and got back into the Camry, according to police. He drove into the intersection of Park Avenue and West Hedding Street, colliding with another vehicle with a driver and passenger inside. Carter got out of the Camry, which was disabled, through the passenger window and ran north on Park Avenue, carrying a backpack and holding what appeared to be a gun in his hand. The people in the vehicle that was hit by Carter suffered minor to moderate injuries, police said.
Police said Carter ran on the west side of Park Avenue and appeared to try to stop a car traveling southbound on Park Avenue by pointing a gun at it. At the same time, a police officer approached from the opposite direction and Carter fired a round in the direction of the officer and the passing vehicle. Neither the officer or the motorist was hit by the gunfire.
Carter ran through the parking lot toward West Hedding Street and an officer was driving eastbound on West Hedding and stopped and exited his vehicle when he saw Carter, according to police. Carter pointed his gun at the officer and the officer fired, hitting Carter at least once. Police video evidence showed Carter pointing the gun directly at the officer and he kept holding the gun as he moved to the front yard of a home at West Hedding and Burrell Court.
Three more officers arrived and saw Carter still holding the gun, according to police. The four police officers each fired their weapons at least once, striking Carter multiple times. Carter fell to the ground and the Santa Clara County sheriff’s Canine Unit arrived. A police canine was used to separate Carter from the handgun by biting his leg and pulling him away.
Carter was handcuffed by officers, who tried to administer first aid until medical personnel stepped in, according to authorities. Carter was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead after arrival.
The four officers were wearing body cameras during the incident and have been put on paid administrative leave, normal protocol in a shooting involving any officer, Mata said. Their names will be released at a later time.
The shooting is under investigation by the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office and the San Jose Police Department’s Homicide Unit. It’s also being monitored by the San Jose Department’s Internal Affairs Unit, the City Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Independent Police Auditor. The District Attorney’s Office will determine whether the shooting was lawful and justified.
Police will be releasing a community briefing video on the shooting in coming weeks. The incident was also captured on surveillance footage from residents in the area.
The shooting is the first by San Jose police officers this year. Last year, officers were involved in two on-duty shootings, both of which were fatal and controversial.
On Jan. 21, 2021, undercover officers seeking to arrest 27-year-old David Tovar Jr. in connection with a South County homicide shot him in the courtyard of an apartment complex in the East San Jose foothills. An officer reported seeing the butt of a gun in Tovar’s hand as he ran along a second-floor walkway, prompting three officers to open fire and kill Tovar, who was unarmed and holding a cellphone. Tovar’s family is suing the city over the shooting.
On May 31, an undercover police officer conducting surveillance on 31-year-old Demetrius Stanley in connection with an earlier robbery shot and killed Stanley, who was approaching the officer’s unmarked SUV with a gun in his hand, seemingly unaware he was confronting police. His family contends he thought he was protecting his family from a potential prowler.