Shooting of Cau Bich Tran
| Time | 9:00 pm |
|---|---|
| Date | July 13, 2003 |
| Location | East Taylor Street, San Jose, California, U.S. |
| Participants | Bich Cau Thi Tran (death) Chad Marshall and Tom Mun (officers) |
| Deaths | Bich Cau Thi Tran |
| Litigation | Tran's family awarded $1.8 million from lawsuit filed against the city of San Jose |
The shooting of Bich Cau Thi Tran occurred in San Jose, California, on July 13, 2003. She was fatally shot by a San Jose Police officer in her home. Tran was wielding an Asian vegetable peeler at two police officers and was then shot once in the chest. The incident led to controversy among the Vietnamese American community in San Jose, accusing the officer of using excessive force. The family of Tran was awarded $1.8 million in a lawsuit filed against the city of San Jose.
Tran was a 25-year-old Vietnamese immigrant who spoke little English. She immigrated to the U.S. in 1997. She was the mother of two boys, then 2-and 4-years-old, with whom she lived with in an apartment, along with her boyfriend. She was 4 feet 9 inches (145 cm) tall and weighed 98 pounds (44 kg). She had a history of mental health problems and had stopped taking anti psychotic medication. Tran had at least nine interactions with police from 2001 to 2003 due to mental health issues and outbursts, and had been hospitalized at least three times for mental health issues.
The two officers, Chad Marshall and Tom Mun, were employed by the San Jose Police Department. Marshall, then 30 years old, had four years of law enforcement experience, while Mun had two and a half years of experience.
At 6 pm, Bich Cau Thi Tran was heard and seen by neighbors yelling in Vietnamese and waving her arms while roaming around the streets of their neighborhood. According to a neighbor, Tran was "marching zombielike down the sidewalk" and ignoring her youngest son, who was wandering in traffic at the intersection of Taylor and 12th Streets crying and asking for "his mommy." The neighbor told Tran to "go take care of your little babies," and Tran's boyfriend, Dang Quang Bui, took her into their family's home and drew the blinds. The neighbor phoned the police to report the wandering toddler, which prompted a dispatch to the scene to check on the welfare of the toddler. Tran's family stated that she had tried to enter an accidentally-locked bedroom from the outside, through the window, and had not noticed that one of her sons had followed her outside.
While officers were en route, Tran was heard by neighbors screaming in her home, prompting more calls to the police as a suspected domestic violence issue. Two officers arrived on scene in separate patrol cars. Officer Chad Marshall and Officer Tom Mun arrived at the East Taylor Street apartment complex where Tran lived with her boyfriend and the couple's two sons. The officers heard Tran acting distraught and pounding and screaming inside.
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