San Jose police use deadly force twice in 6 hours

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- San Jose police used deadly force twice in a six-hour time span overnight, bringing the number of officer-involved shootings this year to six.

In one case, police say a man threatened them with a knife on East San Antonio Street. In the other, a shotgun was involved on San Marcos Way.

The man was standing in his front yard with a shotgun when police arrived, preparing to shoot, and that's when police say they decided to react and shoot at him.

Police brass say those officers did everything by the book.

Residents of the Cherrywood neighborhood heard noises coming from a house that sounded like an argument.

A woman called San Jose police from the house, saying her brother had returned home drunk and had a gun.

Officers responded and found the man holding a shotgun.

"At first the suspect was outside of the residence with a shotgun. Once he racked the shotgun, officers shot at the suspect. He dropped the shotgun retreated into his house. After a few hours, our MERGE unit went into the residence and discovered the suspect dead," San Jose Police Asst. Chief Eddie Garcia said.

Police say the man died from a self-inflicted wound. His name is not being released but relatives and friends who gathered nearby described him and his family as kind-hearted and loving.

One friend asked ABC7 News not to show his face or use his name. "I just feel sad for his whole family because we really loved him. Like I said, there's going to be hundreds of thousands of people on this street sooner or later because he was very well loved," the friend said.

Six hours before this incident, two other San Jose officers were involved in another shooting at East San Antonio and Packing Place.

A suspect wanted in a stabbing incident pulled out a knife and threatened them. Officers shot and killed the man.

Garcia says in both cases, the officers did what they were trained to do.

There have now been six officer-involved shootings in San Jose this year, up from five last year. Of this year's six cases, three were fatal.

All four officers have been put on administrative leave while their actions are being reviewed.