For release on June 4, 2015 CONTACT:
James Gibbons-Shapiro
Assistant District Attorney
(408) 792-2985 DA REPORT: OFFICER LAWFULLY KILLED WOMAN WITH DRILL DISGUISED AS UZI The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has concluded that a San Jose police officer last year lawfully shot and killed a mentally ill and suicidal woman who was pointing a power drill spray-painted to look like an assault weapon. In a 57-page report, Supervising Deputy District Attorney James Leonard determined that “Given the appearance of the painted drill and the dispatcher’s report that the suspect claimed to be armed with an Uzi, Officer (Wakana) Okuma believed and was reasonable in believing that the drill was some type of firearm.” Moreover, “Even if Officer Okuma had suspected that the weapon may not be a firearm, it would have been unreasonable for her to allow Showman to advance close enough with the weapon pointed directly at her in order to get a better view of the weapon to either confirm or dispel such a suspicion.” The District Attorney’s Office investigates all fatal law enforcement encounters to determine if the lethal force was legal. By law, officers are allowed to use deadly force when faced with imminent danger. By the time she was 19, Showman had attempted suicide numerous times and had been violent with her family. Around 10:30 a.m. on August 14, 2014, she called the emergency line from the Blossom Hill Road home where she was living with her father, who was at work. Showman told the dispatcher she was holding her mother and brother hostage in a back room and would shoot them if the police did not respond. Multiple officers, including Officer Okuma, responded, taking tactical positions to avoid being shot by the powerful weapon and to protect Showman’s neighbors. Showman exited the home and pointed the object at police several times. She then walked directly toward Officer Okuma, who told her numerous times to drop it. An unresponsive Showman aimed the object at the officer, who fired a single, fatal shot from about 30 feet away. These events were captured on video by bystanders using cell phones. Multiple civilian eyewitnesses mistook the drill – which had its bit removed - for a gun. A construction worker on the scene said he thought the object might have been a drill or a gun, but could not be sure. # # #
James Gibbons-Shapiro
Assistant District Attorney
(408) 792-2985 DA REPORT: OFFICER LAWFULLY KILLED WOMAN WITH DRILL DISGUISED AS UZI The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has concluded that a San Jose police officer last year lawfully shot and killed a mentally ill and suicidal woman who was pointing a power drill spray-painted to look like an assault weapon. In a 57-page report, Supervising Deputy District Attorney James Leonard determined that “Given the appearance of the painted drill and the dispatcher’s report that the suspect claimed to be armed with an Uzi, Officer (Wakana) Okuma believed and was reasonable in believing that the drill was some type of firearm.” Moreover, “Even if Officer Okuma had suspected that the weapon may not be a firearm, it would have been unreasonable for her to allow Showman to advance close enough with the weapon pointed directly at her in order to get a better view of the weapon to either confirm or dispel such a suspicion.” The District Attorney’s Office investigates all fatal law enforcement encounters to determine if the lethal force was legal. By law, officers are allowed to use deadly force when faced with imminent danger. By the time she was 19, Showman had attempted suicide numerous times and had been violent with her family. Around 10:30 a.m. on August 14, 2014, she called the emergency line from the Blossom Hill Road home where she was living with her father, who was at work. Showman told the dispatcher she was holding her mother and brother hostage in a back room and would shoot them if the police did not respond. Multiple officers, including Officer Okuma, responded, taking tactical positions to avoid being shot by the powerful weapon and to protect Showman’s neighbors. Showman exited the home and pointed the object at police several times. She then walked directly toward Officer Okuma, who told her numerous times to drop it. An unresponsive Showman aimed the object at the officer, who fired a single, fatal shot from about 30 feet away. These events were captured on video by bystanders using cell phones. Multiple civilian eyewitnesses mistook the drill – which had its bit removed - for a gun. A construction worker on the scene said he thought the object might have been a drill or a gun, but could not be sure. # # #