A Campbell Police Department sergeant who, on March 19, killed a man who shot at officers didn’t break the law, a Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office report has found.
According to the review, 31-year-old Miguel Gomez, who was under the influence of methamphetamine, had been trying to rush into a bedroom were two small children were located. He tried to shoot Officer Stevie Munoz, who was “fighting for his life,” the DA’s Office determined.
Sgt. Najib Magee discharged three rounds from his pistol, killing Gomez, the report states.
“The actions of Sergeant Najib Magee and Officer Stevie Munoz were both lawful and justified, demonstrating exemplary courage and training,” wrote the report’s author, Deputy District Attorney Rob Baker. “Together, the two officers put themselves directly in harm’s way to protect two young children and fellow officers from the threat of great bodily injury or death posed by Miguel Gomez.”
The report concluded that, on March 19, an anonymous woman, referred to as Jane Doe, contacted the Campbell Police Department, via the 911 text messaging service, to say she was afraid of Gomez, her live-in boyfriend.
Officers went to investigate a potential violation of the “peaceful contact” restraining order she had against him (as she claimed he’d told her to barricade herself in a bedroom with the two children, during his multi-day meth binge); Gomez then jumped up from the floor and rushed towards the children’s bedroom holding a loaded firearm, prosecutors said.
“Officer Munoz tackled Gomez in the adjoining hallway and struggled over control of Gomez’s 9mm handgun,” the DA’s Office wrote in a release. “Gomez was able to fire one round from the weapon nearly striking two other officers in the living room. Sgt. Magee, afraid for his life and the lives of the other officers, discharged three rounds from his department-issued pistol, killing Gomez.”
In the aftermath, Officer Munoz was asked why it was he chose to enter the home and tackle Gomez in the hallway.
He replied he couldn’t “let (Gomez) get to the kids’ room,” the DA’s Office said in a release.
