It all went down very quickly. Undercover cops spotted a stolen car and the scene ended in gunfire at Jerilyn Drive and Emerick Avenue. Police investigated the scene until late into the night.
There were several vehicles involved including some unmarked police cars, but the vehicle in the middle of it all was a white two-door Honda. That's the car that police say tried to run over an officer just before the officer opened fire.
SKY 7 HD was over the scene shortly after it happened at 6:45 p.m. Police say San Jose officers, on a special task force in plain clothes and driving unmarked vehicles, were working a separate case when they spotted a white two-door Honda that turned out to be stolen. Neighbors say there was a quick chase.
"We heard three cars coming around an ice cream truck really fast. So we all came out of our houses," said Deryck Attard, a neighbor.
The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department says the driver of stolen white Honda threw it in reverse.
"The suspect rammed the two officers' vehicle in reverse, accelerated forward, hit a parked car that was in the area. One of the officers at that time had already got out of his vehicle. That's when the suspect again tried to accelerate at a high speed toward the officer and the officer opened fire," said Santa Clara Sheriff's Sgt. Jose Cardoza.
"They surrounded the car. We didn't hear anything like 'put your hands up' or anything just two quick shots. 'Pop, pop,'" said Attard.
But police say the undercover officer fired only one shot, striking the driver in the head and killing him. Witnesses wondered if the suspect knew they were undercover police.
"It was clear that the suspect knew because they did put their lights and sirens on in an attempt to stop the vehicle right before the suspect tried to ram the two police vehicles and then subsequently tried to accelerate and run over an officer," said Cardoza.
The identity of the dead driver has not been released. There was also a passenger involved, but police say that person is being considered a witness and he's cooperating with police.
