Naked man shot by San Jose police after high-speed chase

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- San Jose police say a naked man led officers on a high-speed chase in West San Jose Friday afternoon.

The incident started around 1:30 p.m. when police responded to a call reporting a naked man acting erratically in the street at Valerie Drive and Eva Court, near San Tomas Park. Just 30 minutes later, gunshots rang off at Stevens Creek Boulevard.

"He raced down the road with ten police officers behind him," said James Shaw, who witnesses the shooting.

Shaw says that he saw next sent him ducking for cover behind his car. "I heard a popping sound and then I saw the officer firing into the vehicle," said Shaw.

Shaw believes he heard as many as 12 shots.

Residents who live near where it all began, say the man wasn't naked the whole time.

"He was walking kind of agitated about something then all the sudden he just took off his clothes," said Jackie Skinner, a Campbell resident.

"Running in the yard, throwing stuff in the yard, picking it up, running back to his truck which is parked in front, still naked," said Darlene Barden, a Campbell resident.

Barden says the man rents a room in a house on Eva Court and they don't really know him.

Residents finally called police after another neighbor came home with her children.

"He went running toward them, like charging the kids, naked. And these kids are like 4th grade and they're all screaming and crying," a resident told ABC7 News.

When police arrived they say the man got in his truck, rammed a parked truck and a police car before taking off.

Officers chased him but he got into an accident with another car and ultimately broke down at the Safeway.

That's where officers tried to take him into custody.

"During that encounter, multiple officers fired at the suspect. He was struck at least once," said San Jose police Sgt. Enrique Garcia.

Police have not revealed if the man was armed.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office is investigating.