Man Shot By San Jose Police After Disarming Gunman During Restaurant Brawl Files Civil Rights Suit
SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) -- A man shot by San Jose police after he had disarmed a gunman is now filing a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city.
The shooting happened on March 27 at a restaurant near San Jose State University. Surveillance video showed several people brawling inside the establishment.
On the video, 20-year-old K'aun Green, is seeing wrestling a gun away from one of the people involved in the fight. Green's attorney says his client was waiting for food when another man started a fight with him and the man's friend pointed a gun at Green's head before Green disarmed him.
Police arrived as green was backing through the restaurant's front door. Attorney Adante Pointer said Green was holding the gun above his head and was shot by a police officer without warning or giving him a reasonable time to acknowledge police or to any commands.
Green was hit four times in the abdomen, arm and leg. The former star quarterback at McClymonds High School in Oakland is now attending Contra Costa College, and at a press conference Thursday, Green spoke about the physical and mental pain he's going through.
"The real pain didn't come until my teammates came to see me and I couldn't walk out that door with them," said Green. "Thought that I was never going to be able to play with my fellow sophomores that's on the team with me."
Pointer said it's wrong he was treated like a criminal and not a hero.
"He was handcuffed to his hospital bed. He was deprived of the care and comfort of the family members we are gathered with us here today," said Pointer. "He was deprived from talking to mother and father who were sick trying to figure out whether their son was dead or alive."
The San Jose Police Department said Thursday it would not comment on pending litigation.In a news conference last week, Chief Anthony Mata defended his officers, saying green refused orders to drop the handgun, and it was impossible in the moment for officers to know his role in the brawl."
Mata also said officers were responding to the restaurant disturbance at the same time officers were investigating a fatal shooting just yards away in which the gunman was still at large.
