South Bay Cop Cleared In Fatal Shooting

SAN JOSE, CA — A San Jose police officer has been cleared in the fatal 2019 shooting of a wanted suspect, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday.

Sgt. Lee Tassio acted lawfully when he fatally shot 29-year-old Andrew Roberts of Aptos amid a struggle at a traffic stop, prosecutors said.

Roberts fought with officer Matthew Rodriguez for about half a minute as he tried to fire his own stolen handgun and grab Tassio's weapon, prosecutors said. The stolen gun misfired during the struggle.

Tassio warned Roberts that he would shoot when he saw that Rodriguez was slowly losing control of Roberts’ firearm before firing one fatal shot from close range, prosecutors said.

Deputy District Attorney Rob Baker, who authored the 24-page public report on the shooting, concluded that the shooting was justified.

“What we know about this tragic case is that on November 9, 2019, Andrew Roberts was solely responsible for putting SJPD Sergeant Lee Tassio into a position where he had no other choice but to use deadly force to protect his life and the lives of other officers, and the use of that force was necessary and reasonable under the circumstances,” Baker said in a statement.

A Lexus being driven by Roberts’s father on southbound Highway 85, near Winchester Boulevard was pulled over during a planned operation, prosecutors said. The suspect – wanted for a no-bail active warrant for evading police – was riding in the front passenger seat.

The suspect refused to comply with officer’s orders and get out of the vehicle. Body worn camera footage (video one/video two) shows when Rodriguez tried to reach into the car, the suspect pulled a gun and began to twist it toward the officer, who desperately tried to control his hands.
Tassio used a stun gun on the suspect, to no effect, before he fired his weapon, prosecutors said.

“I was scared he was going to kill me. I was scared he was going to kill Matt (Rodriguez),” Sergeant Tassio told investigators: “I realized he didn’t have any intention of getting away from us.”

Said Rodriguez: “It was the only experience that I’ve had like this, that I’m fighting a person with a gun, and who is trying to shoot me, and I’m holding onto it, and I was fearful.”