By Connor Sheets
Los Angeles Times
SAN JOSE, Calif. — One San Jose police community service officer was killed and another was critically injured Saturday night after being struck by a driver suspected of being under the influence.
According to a letter sent by the union president, member officers have raised concerns that new recruitment efforts will inadvertently endanger other officers
The man turned and fired at the officer as he was fleeing on foot; the officer returned fire, striking the suspect in the arm
Officers made 47 traffic stops and 11 arrests; 10 cars were towed, including some that will be forfeited and not returned to the owners
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The crash happened while the officers were “conducting traffic control for an unrelated incident on Monterey Road,” the San Jose Police Department said Sunday afternoon in a statement posted on social media. The driver was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
The job of community service officer is a civilian position created in 2014; the officers respond to and investigate lower-priority calls for service, according to the Police Department’s website.
The department has not released information about the identities of the officers or the driver or other key details about the incident, including whether charges were filed, and exactly when and where the crash took place.
“Our entire police family is heartbroken by this line of duty death, and our collective arms are around his family, friends, and teammates as we all cope with this painful incident,” the department said.
“We are also praying for our other CSO [community service officer] who suffered major injuries during the traffic collision and is still hospitalized. May she have a speedy recovery.”
A representative for the San Jose Police Department’s media relations unit said via email that the department would provide more information during a news conference at its headquarters at 3 p.m. Monday . The event will be streamed live on the department’s Instagram page.
“This is the first CSO line-of-duty death in SJPD history,” the Sunday statement said. “We pray it will be the last.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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