Shooting of Cau Bich Tran

Shooting of Cau Bich Tran
Time 9:00 pm
Date July 13, 2003
Location East Taylor Street, San Jose, California, U.S.
Participants Cau Bich Tran (death)
Chad Marshall and Tom Munn (officers)
Deaths Cau Bich Tran
Litigation Tran's family awarded $1.8 million from lawsuit filed against the city of San Jose

The shooting of Cau Bich Tran occurred in San Jose, California, on July 13, 2003. She was fatally shot by a San Jose Police Department officer in her home. Tran was wielding an Asian vegetable peeler at two police officers and was then shot once in the chest. The incident lead to controversy among the Vietnamese American community in San Jose, accusing the officer of using excessive force. The family of Tran was awarded $1.8 million in a lawsuit filed against the city of San Jose.[1]

Backgrounds

Tran was a 25-year-old Vietnamese immigrant who spoke little English. She immigrated to the U.S. in 1997. She was the mother of two boys, then 2-and 4-years-old, whom she lived with in an apartment, along with her boyfriend. She was 4'9" and weighed 98 pounds. She had a history of mental health problems and had stopped taking anti psychotic medication.[1][2] Tran had at least nine interactions with police from 2001 to 2003 due to mental health issues and outbursts, and had been hospitalized at least three times for mental health issues.[3]

The two officers, Chad Marshall and Tom Munn, were employed by the San Jose Police Department. Marshall, then 30 years old, had four years of law enforcement experience, while Munn had two and a half years of experience.[4][5]

Shooting

At 6 pm, Cau Bich Tran was heard and seen by neighbors yelling in Vietnamese and waving her arms while roaming around the streets of their neighborhood. Three hours later, Tran was heard by neighbors screaming in her home. At 9 pm, Tran's neighbor called the police, and two officers arrived on scene in separate patrol cars. Officer Chad Marshall and another officer, Tom Munn, arrived at the East Taylor Street apartment complex of Tran where she was acting distraught and pounding and screaming inside a room. The officers pounded on the door for several minutes after Tran's relatives refused to open it, and asked if they could break it down. Tran's boyfriend then opened the door and pointed the officers to where Tran was. She was wielding a 10-inch Asian vegetable peeler, a dao bao, that had a 6-inch blade and was about 5 to 7 feet away from the officers, and reportedly screamed at the officers to go away. Marshall described the weapon as what appeared to be a cleaver and thought she was going to throw the weapon at him. Marshall's partner said that the weapon appeared to be a kitchen knife, and Tran raised it over her head. Within five to seven seconds of arriving on scene, Marshall responded by firing one gunshot into Tran's chest, killing her. According to Tran's boyfriend, Marshall did not warn Tran or demand her to drop the weapon before shooting, although Munn said they made multiple demands for Tran to drop the peeler.[1][4][2] Tran's boyfriend also stated that Ciu Bich Tran was opening a jammed bathroom door with the peeler before police arrived on scene.[3][5]

Investigation

The Santa Clara County's District Attorney held a criminal grand jury of 18 members to decide on whether or not Marshall should be indicted for the shooting death. Santa Clara County Deputy District's Attorney Dan Nishigaya provided evidence to the grand jury over a two-week span. Nishigaya asked the officers why they did not choose to use pepper spray or other nonlethal tactics to subdue Tran, and Tom Munn testified that the incident "happened too quickly" and that it appeared to be an imminent threat that endangered the lives of the two officers and Tran's relatives. In October 2003, the grand jury declined to indict Marshall on charges of either manslaughter or murder in Tran's death after a seven-day proceeding.[4]

Tran's family filed a civil lawsuit against the city of San Jose, Officer Chad Marshall, and the San Jose Chief of Police, alleging wrongful death. In 2005, Tran's family was awarded $1,825,000. $800,000 of it went to Tran's sons.[1] According to San Jose Attorney Rick Doyle, the city wanted to avoid a "drawn-out case" and make sure Tran's sons would be provided for.

Reaction

The shooting lead to many protests organized by Vietnamese community leaders and immigrant activists, and distrust from some of the Vietnamese community leaders and citizens in the San Jose area, stating that the shooting was a result of excessive force. Three days after Tran was killed, 300 protesters marched from her apartment to the San Jose City Hall.[6]

A vigil with 400 people was held for Tran.[4]

The shooting lead to the formation of the Coalition for Justice and Accountability, founded by Richard Konda, a director of the Asian Law Alliance. It was an organization that sought for justice in the case and demanded the San Jose Police Department to be culturally sensitive and adopt nonlethal tactics for subduing mentally disturbed people. The organization held multiple protests at the San Jose City Hall and called for a federal investigation in Tran's death after county prosecutors declined to file charges against Chad Marshall.[7][4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 $1.8 million settlement in killing by police officer, San Francisco Chronicle
  2. 1 2 Gathright, Alan. Jury meets in public eye over SJ shooting, San Francisco Chronicle, October 22, 2003.
  3. 1 2 Woman shot by cop called no threat, witnesses say, San Francisco Chronicle
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Grand jury clears San Jose officer, Los Angeles Timesm October 31, 2003.
  5. 1 2 Police killing divides San Jose, Los Angeles Times. July 22, 2003.
  6. ↑ Estrella, Cicero A. Police shooting in San Jose stirs Vietnamese into action, San Francisco Chronicle, December 29, 2003.
  7. ↑ Group urges federal probe into shooting, San Francisco Chronicle

Bibliography

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