The San Jose Police Department is hoping to generate new leads in sexual assault cold cases by resubmitting hundreds of rape kits for testing. The department has approximately 900 partially-tested rape kits from victims used to obtain DNA evidence to identity suspects. These kits have been previously tested under an outdated system. To get more...
SJPD
San Jose police chief lays out 2025 challenges
San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph stopped in South San Jose for his first 2025 community town hall, taking questions and giving updates on the uphill battle facing the city’s police department. Joseph told Almaden Valley Community Association members earlier this month the challenges facing the San Jose Police Department stem from the continued decline...
San Jose expands paid family leave to attract police, workers
More than 1,000 officers with San Jose’s police union will no longer have limited hours of parental leave to spend with family. City officials have expanded the existing 40 hours of paid leave for workers to 320 hours, with all of San Jose’s major unions becoming eligible as of Oct. 22 — including officers with...
Union distrusts San Jose cop’s fundraising for fallen officer
Union representatives are calling out San Jose police Sgt. Tam Truong for running a fundraiser for the family of a fallen officer while being sued for alleged financial fraud. But family members don’t see a problem. Truong set up a GoFundMe page for Community Service Officer Long Pham, who was struck and killed by an...
San Jose allegedly tried to interrogate cops investigating city official
In a frenzied attempt to uncover who’s “leaking” details about a councilman accused of child sex crimes to the media, San Jose’s top administrators allegedly tried to question more than two dozen police officers — without informing them of their rights or following an investigatory process. A legal demand letter sent by the San Jose...
Police: San Jose official investigated for alleged ‘oral copulation of a minor’
New court records released Thursday show San Jose Councilmember Omar Torres is being investigated for “oral copulation of a minor” — a stunning development in a criminal investigation that’s rocked Silicon Valley. In the filings, police say they interviewed an individual named Terry Beeks, who is described as a 21-year-old Chicago resident allegedly extorting Torres....
Crime data in San Jose just got smarter
Residents will soon be able to view San Jose Police Department crime statistics broken down by council districts as part of an effort to expand transparency requirements citywide. Rules Committee members voted unanimously to approve a proposal by Councilmember Arjun Batra to publish public safety data by districts. Batra said his goal is to change the...
San Jose police program in the spotlight after officer death
Police officers across Silicon Valley are mourning San Jose’s first community service officer killed in the line of duty — a gesture to how integral these officers have become in a city that struggles to fill its police ranks. Long Pham, a community service officer with the San Jose Police Department since 2022, was killed...
Fact check: San Jose congressional candidate’s cop claims disputed
San Jose police staffing levels have become a key dispute in Silicon Valley’s hottest and most unusual election. In a recent campaign TV ad, Congressional District 16 candidate and former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo boasts of adding 200 police officers while representing the city. But the city’s police union and state Assemblymember Ash Kalra,...
San Jose police denied immunity in excessive force lawsuit
A legal shield protecting police officers from excessive force lawsuits has taken a major blow in San Jose. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied qualified immunity for Michael Panighetti, a San Jose Police Department officer who shot a Black activist, Derrick Sanderlin, in the groin with a foam round while he held...