Shooting Raises Question—What Did Officers Know?

The fatal officer shooting of a mentally ill San Jose (Calif.) man last May has raised questions among the victim’s family and the community about what officers knew and why they took deadly action. The police department initially said officers were unaware of that Daniel Pham suffered from any mental illness, but just-released police documents and logging tapes of the 911 calls and radio traffic show that a dispatcher did say on the radio that officers had previously dealt with a mentally ill man at the address. As officers arrived, two dispatchers were talking to a neighbor outside and a woman locked inside a bedroom of the house. Pham had slashed his brother’s neck with a knife, and he approached officers when they arrived and told them Daniel was “high on drugs,” not mentally ill. The officers confronted Pham in the backyard over a fence and tried to distract him. But when he charged the officers, they fired 14 times, striking him 12 times. Read more and listen to the 911 calls and radio traffic here. Also review the city’s Web site with reports and tapes.