San Jose police officer charged with drunkenly firing gun explains his alcohol use
San Jose police officer charged with drunkenly firing gun explains his alcohol use
A San Jose police officer on Wednesday was arraigned in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
MORGAN HILL, Calif. - A San Jose police officer on Wednesday was arraigned in Santa Clara County Superior Court on charges of drunkenly firing a gun inside his home, and explained to the court that his alcohol use has been at the core of some of his actions.
Officer Timothy Faye, a 22-year veteran of SJPD, did not enter a plea to two felony counts of willful discharge of a firearm with gross negligence.
He was arrested last Wednesday for allegedly firing his gun inside the Morgan Hill home of his ex-girlfriend while he was drunk.
Separately, he was arrested a couple of days prior for allegedly abusing a child in Monterey County, involving his fiancée and her 8-year-old daughter, though no charges have yet been filed in that case.
Faye was also one of two officers who shot and killed a man at a San Jose power plant in 2018.
In court, he told the judge he uses alcohol as a coping mechanism.
"It's been traumatic," he said. "We all have coping mechanisms. I use alcohol as a coping mechanism. I need to find what is best for me, make myself my best person and make the world a better place for everyone else. "
Judge L. Michael Clark appeared persuaded by Faye's comments and agreed to his release on several conditions, including monitoring and calling into the police department's Internal Affairs office every day.
The Mercury News reported that Faye’s attorney, Nana Knight, requested that Faye be released from the Santa Clara County Main Jail, to a rehabilitation facility that specializes in treating first responders.
The San Jose Police Department put Faye on leave following his June 18 arrest. He was told to return to court on Aug. 20.
San Jose police officer Timothy Faye appears in court but does not enter a plea to charges that he recklessly fired a gun. June 25, 2025