Vigil held for man killed by Napa police officers

NAPA, Calif. (KGO) -- A vigil was held Saturday night in memory of a 41-year-old man who was killed by Napa police officers as they tried to serve him with a search warrant. Jaime Jimenez was rushed to a local hospital, but died on Friday.

Friends and family of the victim led a candlelight procession to the spot where he was shot by police. His mother and sister, Monica Jimenez, say they this wasn't the first time police had been to their home.

Quintana: "They had been there a couple weeks before?"

Jimenez: "Yes, and they found nothing."

Quintana: "And they came back again?"

Jimenez: "And found nothing."

Following the shooting, Napa Police Chief Steve Potter immediately expressed remorse that officers shot someone.

"For us, these incidents are always tragic," he said. "It doesn't matter who the individual is that's involved in it, we don't like to see the loss of life."

Officers were serving a search warrant at Jimenez's home for drugs and guns. Investigators say officers saw a handgun on him when he crashed his motorcycle. They believe he was about to reach for it, when one officer fired three times. Police say a handgun was found on scene.

At the vigil, his family and friends say Jimenez did have several run-ins with the law, but he was not a bad person and always had time for his nieces and nephews.

"I wouldn't be as athletic, and who I am, if it wasn't for him," said nephew Armando Melendez.

This fatal shooting is being investigated by the Napa Sheriff's Department.

The Napa city police officers involved have been placed on paid administrative leave.