Woman shot by San Jose police expected to survive
SAN JOSE, Calif. (BCN) - A woman shot by a San Jose police officer after threatening officers on Monday afternoon is being treated for injuries that are not considered life-threatening, San Jose police Chief Eddie Garcia said today.
At 2:53 p.m. Monday, police received a 911 call from a neighbor that San Jose resident Terese Haddox had said she was having suicidal thoughts and was armed with a gun. Haddox banged on the neighbor's front door while holding a shotgun, Garcia said.
At 2:56 p.m., Haddox called police herself and said that if police came to her home, she would shoot them, Garcia said.
According to Garcia, Haddox hung up and called back a short time later when police had arrived to the residence in the 800 block of Feller Avenue. She said that if they did not leave, she would use her firearm to harm them.
After San Jose officers had surrounded the area, Haddox walked out of her front door and was holding a shotgun. Haddox advanced toward officers and raised her shotgun at them in a firing position, the police chief said.
A 19-year male veteran of the department with no crisis intervention training fired at Haddox, at which point she fell to the ground. Garcia said that she got up and went back into her home and shut the door, but police were aware that she was hurt.
The round hit the shotgun itself, injuring both of Haddox's hands, Garcia said. From there it ricocheted into her torso, he said.
San Jose police's Special Operations Unit was called to the scene and helped coax Haddox outside, at which point she was taken into custody.
There was body-worn camera footage of the shooting. The officer involved has been placed on routine administrative leave, Garcia said.
Two shotguns were recovered from the residence. From further investigation, police know that the shotgun Haddox was using to arm herself was not loaded.
Investigators have yet to determine whether the shotgun was hers, according to Garcia.
The chief said that Haddox is at a hospital recovering, and she will eventually be transferred to Santa Clara County Jail.
She will be booked on suspicion of seven counts of threatening a peace officer, brandishing a firearm at a peace officer and assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, Garcia said.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office and the San Jose police Homicide Unit are doing a joint criminal investigation into the incident.
The San Jose police Internal Affairs Unit and the San Jose City Attorney's Office are monitoring the case. The independent police auditor was on scene.
"When someone threatens a police officer on a 911 call and then steps outside their house with a shotgun and points it at one of my police officers, the options are limited," Garcia said.
Garcia said that mental health crisis training begins for officers at academy, and the Police Department is actively working to cycle veteran officers through the program so the entire department can be trained for "situations in which you have time."
Garcia said he did not believe that this case was one of those situations.
"We try to assess situations and get people the help they need, but often times, they need to want the help," the chief said. "Certainly in this case this individual was suicidal, and was trying to take her life at the hands of law enforcement."