Cau Thi Tran:
25-year-old Mother of Two Shot in Kitchen 

GLENNDA CHUI / San Jose Mercury News 16jul03

More than 100 people march in protest of San Jose shooting

More than 100 people gathered today at the home of a woman who was shot by San Jose police before marching to City Hall and police headquarters to protest the slaying.

Cau Thi Tran

"We don't want this to happen to you or me or anybody, black or white or yellow," Kim Tran, father of Cau Thi Tran. The mother of two was shot Sunday night at her East Taylor Street duplex. Officers had been sent there to investigate a report of an unsupervised child.

"When a police officer puts on a uniform and a gun he takes on the duty for the safety of the people and the security of the community," Tran, speaking through a translator, told the crowd before the march began.

"But all it takes is one minute of carelessness, one second of anger and one long step and that safety and security will be destroyed," he added.

Mourners set up a shrine in front of the house with a photo of Cau Thi Tran wearing a hat decked with flowers along with a photo of her with her two sons. The shrine, flanked by flag of the United States and the historic flag of the Republic of Vietnam, also featured flowers, candles, and two white teddy bears.

A memorial fund to help the slain woman's family has been established and people made donations by placing money in a cardboard box in front of the house.

"All it takes is a little compassion, a little gentleness, a little carefulness and respect and things would have been different," Kim Tran, Cau Thi Tran's father, said. ` "Please all speak up and speak out to prevent senseless killings from happening again."

The march drew friends, family members, neighbors and strangers who had heard about the shooting.

Demonstrators carried signs with photos of the slain woman and placards emblazoned with messages such as "Arm police with options" "SJPD must change its procedures," "No more senseless killings," and `Deadly force should be a last resort."

Tiffanie Nguyen, 33, of San Jose, a family friend, said she was shocked when she learned of the shooting. She came to the march with her mother, sister and niece. "I'm not sure what's right or wrong.," she said. "I was not at the scene. I'm just here for support."

Many of the demonstrators demanded that police take steps so this never happens again.

Virginia Canedo, 31, who lives around the corner from the family came with her mother, aunt, sister and cousins. She said she she did not know the Tran family, but "every single day I saw her walk by. We never talked, but we knew her. I think that's unfair what the police. It's unnecessary."

Others said they wanted to send a message to the city that Cau Thi Tran's death was unacceptable.

Speaking to the gathering outside of city hall, Madison Nguyen, 28, a member of the Franklin-McKinley school board called for change.

"It seems to me at this point in time, that this tragic accident happened because of miscommunication," she said.

She urged the police department to conduct a thorough investigation as soon as possible, to recruit more Vietnamese police officers, and to train officers to be more sensitive to various cultures in the community.

San Jose police are conducting an investigation into the incident. The officer involved has been placed on administrative leave. Additionally, the grand jury will review the case.

Nam Nguyen, 39, of United Asian Foundation, said his young son recently told him that he wanted to be a police officer. "What do I tell him now?" he asked the crowd.

"We come here to demand action. As American citizens, we have a right to ask. We do not condemn the police officer. We just want the truth."

source: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/6317050.htm 16jul03

Large Peeler Common in
Vietnamese Homes — dao bao

It may be big and look sharp, but to most Vietnamese-Americans, the implement the San Jose Police Department is calling a cleaver is unmistakably a vegetable peeler.

In Vietnamese, the peelers are called dao bao. The lightweight devices look more like a knife than a typical vegetable peeler used in most American homes: They have either a wooden or plastic shaft and are usually a hand's-length long.

Southeast Asians prefer the traditional peeler because it serves the dual purpose of peeling skin from fruits and vegetables and slicing them thinly. The one used by shooting victim Cau Thi Tran of San Jose appeared to be sharpened at the edge -- uncommon, though not unheard of.

Tina Tien, a Vietnamese immigrant who lives in San Jose, says she knows of a few Vietnamese cooks who sharpen the edges of their dao bao for convenience. She says she has also seen peelers made in Thailand that come with the edges pre-sharpened. The markings on the one held by Tran indicate it was probably made in Thailand.

-- K. Oanh Ha

(SAN JOSE POLICE DEPARTMENT )-This is the weapon the San Jose Police said Cau Thi Tran, 25, was holding when she allegedly attacked them. To most Vietnamese-Americans, the implement that the police are calling a cleaver is unmistakenly a vegtable peeler.

(Courtesy NBC Channel 11)-Cau Thi Tran, a 25-year-old mother of two who was shot Sunday night at her East Taylor Street duplex.

Woman Shot by San Jose Police Identified 

San Jose Mercury News 14jul03

The Santa Clara County Coroner's Office has identified the woman fatally shot by San Jose police last night as Cau Thi Tran of San Jose.

An officer shot Tran after she allegedly came at them with a knife and refused repeated requests to drop the weapon.

Police were called to Tran's home in the 500 block of East Taylor Street Sunday night after a witness reported seeing a little boy wandering alone outside.

Two officers responded, but the child was back inside his home before they arrived. The officers were greeted by Tran's husband who told them his wife was `acting crazy'' and hadn't taken her medication.

When they entered the kitchen, Tran reportedly screamed at them to get out. She then pulled out a knife from a kitchen drawer, and repeated her demands for them leave.

When she raised the knife above her head as if to throw it at them one officer fired, hitting Tran in the chest.

Tran was pronounced dead at the scene.

Both officers have been placed on administrative leave while the investigation is under way.

This is the second officer involved shooting involving the San Jose Police Department in three days. On Friday, a man was shot outside a 7-Eleven convenience store after allegedly aiming a gun at officers.

source: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/6301687.htm 16jul03

Family Questions Killing of Woman by San Jose Police Officer

GLENNDA CHUI / San Jose Mercury News 14jul03

VICTIM'S ACTIONS AND INTENTIONS WERE MISUNDERSTOOD, THEY SAY

The family of a 25-year-old woman who was shot and killed by San Jose police on Sunday night said they believe her death was unnecessary, the result of a misunderstanding.

Police went to the duplex on Taylor Street because someone reported a small child wandering alone outside. When officers arrived, the child was already inside, but they heard screaming from inside the home.

Family members said Monday, Cau Thi Tran was screaming in frustration because she had locked herself out of her bedroom. She had tried to use a vegetable peeler to pick the lock and was sitting in the kitchen, holding the peeler, when police walked in.

Police, however, contend Tran grabbed a 10-inch knife or cleaver and yelled at them to leave. This was not an option, they said, because it would have meant leaving her armed and alone in the house with her boyfriend, Dang Bui, and their two children, ages 3 and 4.

Police Sgt. Steve Dixon said that when officers tried to calm her down, she raised the weapon as if to throw it. Officer Chad Marshall, who has been on the police force four years, shot her once in the chest -- the second shooting by San Jose police in three days. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Bui insisted that Tran had a peeler in her hand, not a knife. Although his girlfriend was prone to getting upset, he said, she always calmed down in a few minutes.

``They said, `Hey, hey.' They shoot right away,'' Bui said, sobbing as he walked the few steps from the front door to the kitchen, re-enacting the scene that he witnessed from a hallway where he stood with the children.

Tran's father, Kim Tran of San Jose, said his daughter came to the United States from Vietnam five years ago and did not speak English very well.

``I think between her and the police they misunderstood, that's what happened,'' said her father, who was not in the house at the time of the shooting. ``The police take action very fast. She never showed a sign to harm people. Sometimes she was out of control, she yelled, that's it. She would calm down right away.''

Marshall, who fired the shot, has been placed on administrative leave along with Tom Mun, the other officer at the scene. This is a routine step in shootings involving police officers, Davis said, and usually lasts about a week.

On Friday, officers critically wounded a man after he allegedly pointed a gun at them outside a 7-Eleven store on Curtner Avenue.

San Jose police have prided themselves on developing alternatives to using deadly force in cases like this, said Rob Davis, deputy chief for investigations. They include tasers that can stun people at distances of up to 21 feet, pepper spray and spongy bullets.

``I believe we're seeing results,'' he said. ``But all the less-than-lethal weapons in the world aren't going to help when you have someone who is intent on hurting somebody.''

However, these alternative weapons are expensive and officers don't routinely carry them, said David Babineau, training manager for the police department. He said the goal is to get one of the less-lethal weapons into an officer's hands within 15 minutes when the situation warrants.

On Sunday night, officers arrived at Tran's duplex at 9:03 p.m., Dixon said. She was shot just three minutes later.

source: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/6305478.htm 16jul03