The police officer who shot and killed a man on the side of
Highway 152 Feb. 8 returned to his post less than a month after the
incident. Meanwhile, the sheriff’s office is still waiting for
toxicology reports from the lab to round out their criminal
investigation of the officer and the wife of the dead man is
left
”
stunned,
”
wondering how to provide for two children with no father, a
family member said.
The police officer who shot and killed a man on the side of Highway 152 Feb. 8 returned to his post less than a month after the incident. Meanwhile, the sheriff’s office is still waiting for toxicology reports from the lab to round out their criminal investigation of the officer and the wife of the dead man is left “stunned,” wondering how to provide for two children with no father, a family member said.
Relatives revealed that, prior to his death, Singh resided in Washington, near Seattle, and made a living as a truck driver. He left behind a wife and two small children, a 5-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son. Originally from the Punjab region of India, he came to the States more than 10 years ago, said Navdeep Gurpal, a cousin of Singh’s wife.
She described a laid-back, nonconfrontational man who provided for his family’s welfare. Now that he’s gone, Singh’s wife is left worried for her children. Before he died, he “provided everything for the whole family,” Gurpal said.
“She’s depressed,” Gurpal said of her cousin. “How does she survive? How does she take care of her kids? She’s struggling.”
“He’s very nice, according to me,” she added. “I never saw him get mad.”
However, she and other family members said that Singh experienced “mental problems” in recent years that had landed him in the hospital on more than one occasion. He had also been taking medication, they said. They did not know whether he was medicated at the time of his death. Police are waiting for toxicology reports to determine whether any chemicals were in his system when he was shot.
Feb. 8, officer Eustaquio “Paco” Rodriguez, a six-year veteran of the Gilroy Police Department and member of the Anti Crime Team, was traveling westbound on Highway 152, on an hour-long drive back to Gilroy from Gustine, where he served a subpoena. He spotted a man lying on the road, partially in the roadway with his head over the white line, Sheriff’s Sgt. Dalia Rodriguez said.
Singh had been left on the side of the road after getting into a violent dispute with family members, she said. When officer Rodriguez stopped to render aid, Singh attacked him, provoking him to pull his gun and fire, she said. Police would not say whether or not Singh was armed but Gurpal said he “definitely” would not have been carrying a gun.
“His wife said they never had anything like that in their home,” she said. “She said her husband had never owned a gun before.”
Gurpal said that Singh’s wife – who does not speak English – never mentioned any sort of violent behavior. He never hit his wife or children, she said.
Family members believe Singh was unarmed and police won’t let on one way or the other. But Singh had several inches and about 40 pounds on officer Rodriguez – who is small in stature – investigators approximated. One of the factors officers use to determine the reasonableness of force is the officer and subject’s size. Singh attacked officer Rodriguez, forcing him to shoot, police said.
While GPD is conducting an administrative investigation to determine if the officer violated any internal policies, the Santa Clara County Office of the Sheriff is conducting a criminal investigation to determine if any laws were broken. Officer Rodriguez has returned to his normal duties on the same beat, said Gilroy Sgt. Jim Gillio.
All officer involved shootings go before a grand jury to decide if the shooting was justified, Sheriff’s Sgt. Don Morrissey said. A grand jury listens to evidence provided by the district attorney and decides if the officer involved in the shooting should be charged with a crime. Cases like these are usually “scrutinized a little closer,” Morrissey said. Hence, the grand jury. For now, toxicology results still haven’t come back despite the six to eight week timeline he originally projected. Both investigations are ongoing and police refused to release further information.
In the meantime, Singh’s wife is left scrambling to provide for her two young children. “She doesn’t know why they did this,” Gurpal said. “She doesn’t understand why this is happening.”
Police have expressed concern for the family and said they have been in touch and would offer guidance should the family have any questions.
