San Jose police say suspect in officer-involved shooting hid in tub of lard

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- One of two suspects San Jose police officers were chasing after receiving a report of a home invasion robbery early Sunday morning found himself in a barrel - of liquid lard, discarded by a nearby restaurant.

The officer shot at the armed suspect but did not hit him. The suspect, identified as 18 year old Ezequiel Flores of San Jose, had not fired at police. The gun was later found to have been stolen and was loaded.

Suspect Flores had disobeyed an officer's command to drop the gun as he jumped out of the grease barrel. The officer's name is not being released. He was a 21-year veteran of San Jose Police. His body worn camera was turned on.

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Flores later obeyed another officer's command to drop the gun, which led to his arrest.

San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia said there were two suspects, one of them a juvenile, who was quickly arrested at the scene of the robbery at an apartment complex near East William and South Ninth streets. They are believed to be connected to an earlier incident in the same area. Because one suspect is a juvenile and the other turned 18 only six days earlier, Chief Garcia could not provide any details whether the suspects have been involved in other crimes.

The Chief said dealing with a greasy suspect is not taught in the police academy. He did not know if it was difficult to put handcuffs on a suspect slickened up by grease.