Fatal Shooting Prompts Residents to Call for Training Overhaul at San Jose Police Department

About 100 people at a town hall meeting Wednesday called on San Jose city officials to overhaul its training of the police department.

Many in attendance said they were upset with how the police department handles different groups of people and that a new standard has to be set. Four new members of the San Jose City Council also attended the meeting at the Sacred Heart Community Services.

Some in the audience asked for more training from officers on dealing with the mentally ill.

Last month, police shot and killed 23-year-old Phillip Watkins not far from where Wednesday's meeting was held. His family said Watkins was depressed and suicidal that night.

Watkins allegedly charged at officer with a knife in what his family believes was a deliberate attempt to have officers shoot and kill him.

"I think police departments not just here, but across the country need to re-evaluate how they train their officers and what kind of sensitivity training and things of that nature that they're exposing them to," said Anthony Kim, a community organizer.

Some council members even demanded officers be taught to handle these situations better.

"You don't have to kill," Councilman Tam Nguyen said. "You can shoot if you want to, but shoot elsewhere."

Another councilman pledged he would fight to have every officer equipped with body cameras for transparency.

"In terms of covering all the different aspects of an encounter with a civilian and police," Councilman Chappie Jones said. "I don't think it's just one thing, it's a multitude of things."

Councilman Raul Peralez, a former police officer, said the solution will start by continuing communication and giving all sides a voice.

"That's where I wanted to offer it up to the community -- to engage with them deeper," Peralez said. "To not only set some of the record straight with how things are with the department, but as well as to be able to engage on how do we make things better."

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