Man disarms gunman in taqueria brawl, then gets shot by police, California cops say
A 20-year-old man snatched a handgun from another man in an early-morning brawl inside a San Jose taqueria as the fight spilled onto a veranda, California police said.
But police outside responding to reports of an armed assailant in the restaurant didn’t know that, Chief Anthony Mata said at a news conference about the incident Sunday, March 27, according to KNTV.
“Officers gave repeated commands to drop the gun,” Mata said, according to the station. When the man failed to do so, one officer opened fire, hitting him three times.
K’aun Green, a football player for Contra Costa Community College, was hit in the arm, abdomen and leg, attorney Adante Pointer told KTVU. He is expected to recover, and he does not face any charges.
Pointer said Green, who he described as a “hero,” wasn’t given enough time to react to the officers’ orders to drop the gun before one opened fire, according to the station.
“He was never given the time to recognize the police,” Pointer told KTVU. “He was never given the time to drop the gun.”
The fight at La Victoria Taqueria broke out at 3:11 a.m. shortly after an unrelated shooting death nearby, police told KRON.
The incident began in the taqueria after an argument, prompting a man to pull out a handgun, police told The San Francisco Chronicle. A security video showed about 10 men fighting as others fled the restaurant.
During the fight, the gun changed hands “several times,” police said. Fleeing diners told police investigating the nearby shooting that someone in the restaurant had a gun.
Brian Carter, 30, who originally pulled out the gun, has been charged with being a felon in possession of a ghost gun, KRON reported.
The officer who shot Green, a four-year veteran of the police force, has been placed on routine administrative leave while an investigation continues, KGO reported.
The District Attorney’s Office will ultimately determine whether the shooting was justified, according to the station.
This story was originally published March 30, 2022 at 3:30 PM with the headline "Man disarms gunman in taqueria brawl, then gets shot by police, California cops say."