Santa Clara County’s district attorney has cleared a San Jose police officer of criminal wrongdoing in a July 6, 2025 police shooting that left a heavily armed man dead. The decision, released on Tuesday after a months-long review of body-worn camera footage, ballistics and autopsy results, has rekindled local debate over how officers handle mental-health crises and easy access to firearms.
In a report on Tuesday, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office concluded Officer Sebastian Wisniewski acted in lawful self-defense and that no criminal liability attaches to him. Prosecutors said their decision relied on witness statements, forensic evidence and body-worn camera video reviewed by the office. The report states that, given the totality of the facts, prosecutors could not prove any criminal charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
Officers had responded to the 5800 block of Recife Way after Khan’s father called 911 around 2:24 PM, reporting his son was off his medication and being violent. According to local reporting, police spent about 10 minutes trying to calm Khan by phone before approaching the accessory dwelling unit. When Khan eventually came out, authorities say he fired toward officers, and one round struck a parked police vehicle near where officers had taken cover. Those details appeared in contemporaneous coverage by KTVU.
What officers encountered
According to KTVU, Khan emerged in military-style clothing and was armed with a pump-action shotgun, a bolt-action rifle, a revolver and a semi-automatic pistol. Investigators later found more than 50 rounds of ammunition at the scene. The station reported that body-worn camera video shows Khan and Officer Wisniewski firing almost at the same time during an exchange in a neighbor’s backyard.
DA's legal analysis
The district attorney’s report walks through the relevant sections of California law and concludes that Officer Wisniewski had a reasonable belief that lethal force in self-defense and defense of others was necessary. The autopsy found Khan was struck five times. Prosecutors determined Wisniewski’s actions were consistent with state law and San Jose Police Department policy, so the office declined to file criminal charges.
Earlier coverage and neighborhood reaction
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting in July 2025, Hoodline’s initial coverage described neighbors watching as investigators worked near Recife Way, with a damaged squad car towed away from the block. Those early accounts captured the scramble of first responders and the shock running through the normally quiet neighborhood as the incident unfolded.
Oversight and next steps
The DA’s determination addresses only criminal liability. Administrative oversight and any internal policy reviews fall to the San Jose Police Department, which maintains a public Critical Incident briefing page for shootings like this. Officials have not announced any criminal charges. Instead, the DA’s report lays out the evidence and applies California’s justifiable-force standards to the officer’s actions.
At the time of the shooting, San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph told reporters that calls involving mental-health crises are unpredictable and too often among the most dangerous situations our officers face, an assessment reflected in local coverage. The DA’s report, and the renewed discussion around it, underscores the uneasy collision of serious mental illness and access to weapons in close-knit neighborhood settings.
