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"San Jose police officer involved in fatal shooting
Demian Bulwa, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, September 27, 2004
An afternoon coffee break at Starbucks turned deadly Sunday when a San Jose patrol officer fatally shot a patron who attacked him and threw a chair at him, police said.
The officer, who has not been identified, was having a coffee break in the shop and first tried to use his Taser gun to subdue the man before opening fire, according to his statement to police, said San Jose Police Sgt. Steve Dixon. The officer told police he approached the man after a Starbucks clerk complained of the man's behavior.
The victim was identified by friends and family as Zaim Bojcic, 40, who moved to the United States 10 years ago as a refugee from Bosnia. They described him as quiet but troubled.
The Starbucks, in a shopping center on the 1300 block of Winchester Boulevard, is a gathering place for Bosnian Americans in the San Jose area. Dozens of Bosnians gathered in the parking lot of the shopping center late Sunday and said they believed the police officer could have done more to avoid shooting Bojcic.
Dixon said the officer reported being approached by a Starbucks clerk around 1:10 p.m. Sunday, saying she was having trouble with Bojcic, who was sitting outside the shop with three other men. Dixon said the officer told police that Bojcic immediately became confrontational, and picked up a patio chair and threw it, striking the officer. The officer said he retreated and called for backup, then pulled out his Taser and fired. Dixon said the Taser apparently had little effect, either because only one of its two prongs struck Bojcic, or because Bojcic quickly recovered from the shock. The officer reported that Bojcic then charged him in the street, punching and kicking him.
At that point, the officer dropped the Taser, Dixon said.
"He pulled out his gun while being beaten and fired several shots,'' he said. Bojcic was taken by ambulance to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Bojcic's cousin Sejad Premilovac, said Bojcic lived with his mother, his sister, her husband and their two kids in an apartment just west of the shopping center. A man who answered the door of the apartment Sunday said the family did not want to talk.
Premilovac said that Bojcic, a Muslim, grew up in a village called Lubine and in 1993 spent 83 days in a notorious Croat-run concentration camp in Dretelj. Premilovac, who said he also was in the camp, said the International Red Cross had taken them from the camp and arranged for them to come to the United States as refugees after they had been treated in a hospital for starvation.
Bojcic had lived in San Francisco and worked construction, but his cousin and friends said that in recent years he had grown quieter and more mentally unstable.
In 2002, Bojcic was arrested for swinging lumber at police officers and smashing windows of a patrol car in Concord after learning that his impounded car had been sold, according to the Contra Costa Times. Premilovac said that after that incident, Bojcic spent a year at the Napa State Hospital.
Dixon said police policy is to wait a day to identify the officer involved in a shooting so he has a chance to speak with his family. He said the patrolman has been on the force for 10 years. He was taken to a local hospital and treated and released for a head injury and possible concussion, Dixon said.
The San Jose police homicide unit and the Santa Clara County district attorney's office are investigating the incident. The officer will be on paid administrative leave during the investigation.
Several people who frequent the Starbucks said that Bojcic's nickname was Chito and that he regularly drank coffee and smoked cigarettes at the shop. They described him as quiet, talking only occasionally about relatives in Bosnia.
They said the Starbucks new management had been recently cracking down on smoking around the shop. One man, who declined to give his name, said police officers had come by earlier in the week and asked Bojcic not to smoke outside."
E-mail Demian Bulwa at dbulwa@sfchronicle.com.
:Source:
gimme a v. yes.
c & v.
"San Jose police officer involved in fatal shooting
Demian Bulwa, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, September 27, 2004
An afternoon coffee break at Starbucks turned deadly Sunday when a San Jose patrol officer fatally shot a patron who attacked him and threw a chair at him, police said.
The officer, who has not been identified, was having a coffee break in the shop and first tried to use his Taser gun to subdue the man before opening fire, according to his statement to police, said San Jose Police Sgt. Steve Dixon. The officer told police he approached the man after a Starbucks clerk complained of the man's behavior.
The victim was identified by friends and family as Zaim Bojcic, 40, who moved to the United States 10 years ago as a refugee from Bosnia. They described him as quiet but troubled.
The Starbucks, in a shopping center on the 1300 block of Winchester Boulevard, is a gathering place for Bosnian Americans in the San Jose area. Dozens of Bosnians gathered in the parking lot of the shopping center late Sunday and said they believed the police officer could have done more to avoid shooting Bojcic.
Dixon said the officer reported being approached by a Starbucks clerk around 1:10 p.m. Sunday, saying she was having trouble with Bojcic, who was sitting outside the shop with three other men. Dixon said the officer told police that Bojcic immediately became confrontational, and picked up a patio chair and threw it, striking the officer. The officer said he retreated and called for backup, then pulled out his Taser and fired. Dixon said the Taser apparently had little effect, either because only one of its two prongs struck Bojcic, or because Bojcic quickly recovered from the shock. The officer reported that Bojcic then charged him in the street, punching and kicking him.
At that point, the officer dropped the Taser, Dixon said.
"He pulled out his gun while being beaten and fired several shots,'' he said. Bojcic was taken by ambulance to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Bojcic's cousin Sejad Premilovac, said Bojcic lived with his mother, his sister, her husband and their two kids in an apartment just west of the shopping center. A man who answered the door of the apartment Sunday said the family did not want to talk.
Premilovac said that Bojcic, a Muslim, grew up in a village called Lubine and in 1993 spent 83 days in a notorious Croat-run concentration camp in Dretelj. Premilovac, who said he also was in the camp, said the International Red Cross had taken them from the camp and arranged for them to come to the United States as refugees after they had been treated in a hospital for starvation.
Bojcic had lived in San Francisco and worked construction, but his cousin and friends said that in recent years he had grown quieter and more mentally unstable.
In 2002, Bojcic was arrested for swinging lumber at police officers and smashing windows of a patrol car in Concord after learning that his impounded car had been sold, according to the Contra Costa Times. Premilovac said that after that incident, Bojcic spent a year at the Napa State Hospital.
Dixon said police policy is to wait a day to identify the officer involved in a shooting so he has a chance to speak with his family. He said the patrolman has been on the force for 10 years. He was taken to a local hospital and treated and released for a head injury and possible concussion, Dixon said.
The San Jose police homicide unit and the Santa Clara County district attorney's office are investigating the incident. The officer will be on paid administrative leave during the investigation.
Several people who frequent the Starbucks said that Bojcic's nickname was Chito and that he regularly drank coffee and smoked cigarettes at the shop. They described him as quiet, talking only occasionally about relatives in Bosnia.
They said the Starbucks new management had been recently cracking down on smoking around the shop. One man, who declined to give his name, said police officers had come by earlier in the week and asked Bojcic not to smoke outside."
E-mail Demian Bulwa at dbulwa@sfchronicle.com.
:Source:
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