Community rallies for armed man shot and killed by San Jose police

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Supporters of a young father came out in force on Tuesday night, arguing the armed man was defending his home and officers didn't have to kill him.

A group of people held a vigil at San Jose City Hall to remember the life of Demetrius Stanley, 31, who was shot and killed by San Jose police on Monday night near his home.

Police released photos earlier in the day showing Stanley brandishing what appears to be a gun. In one picture, Stanley has the weapon raised while he stands alongside a car. Police said that image was taken moments before at least one officer shot Stanley in the Berryessa neighborhood. Stanley's family lives in the area.

Sgt. Christian Camarillo told reporters that two officers were doing some sort of follow-up investigation to an armed robbery on Tofts Drive near Flickinger Park and Interstate 680 and police allege that Stanley was involved. Police also said when they searched Stanley's family's home, they found five guns that had not been registered.

San e police released photos that they say show an unidentified armed suspect moments before officers opened fire, fatally striking him on May 31, 2021.

Camarillo said Stanley pointed a gun at police and put them in a "deadly situation." 

At least one of the officers opened fire, killing the man, Camarillo said. 

"I'm just gonna put it that frank, it was a very deadly situation that occurred here last night, which caused them to react the way that they did," Camarillo said.

After the vigil, some protesters marched onto Highway 87 and briefly blocked some roads before heading to police headquarters.

One of his friends said Stanley worked as a security guard and was trying to improve his life.

"This man gave me the shirt of his back, the shoes off his feet," said Avil Pittman. "He did not have a hateful bone in his body."

SEE ALSO: San Jose police shoot and kill man during follow-up investigation

This is the second suspect shot and killed by San Jose police this year.

The first deadly shooting happened in January when officers gunned down 27-year-old David Tovar Jr., an unarmed man, who investigators said was a person of interest in a string of violent crimes, including a homicide.

Civil rights attorneys filed a wrongful death suit, saying that no matter what he was accused of, killing him was unnecessary and that his "last moments were a painful, agonizing and torturous death." 

The San Jose Police Department's Internal Affairs Division and the Santa Clara County District Attorney are now investigating the shooting.

KTVU reporters Jesse Gary and James Torrez contributed to this report.