SANTA CRUS — A 35-year-old man shot by Santa Cruz police over the weekend remained in jail Monday on suspicion of brandishing a fake gun.
George Janes was booked Saturday under the same case number listed for the shooting and was being held in the Santa Cruz County Jail in lieu of $150,000 bail. In addition to gun-wielding, Jaynes was suspected of felony threats and misdemeanor loitering.As of Monday, the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office has yet to file formal charges against Jaynes.
Officers at the Santa Cruz Police Department reportedly shot Jaynes while he was inside his car in a cul-de-sac in the Carbonera Creek district shortly before 6 a.m. Saturday. Two police officers opened fire, according to the bureau.
A police armored tactical vehicle, the Bearcat, and a Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office drone provided backup during the call, according to a police spokesperson and recordings of police radio broadcasts.
A representative from the Santa Cruz Police Department on Monday referred questions related to the shooting to the district attorney’s office, including what specific circumstances led to Jaynes’ shooting. Joyce Blaschke said the agency “follows the policies and protocols of T.”
According to the department’s policy manual, it is posted online at the following URL: cityofsantacruz.com, the District Attorney’s Office is responsible for criminal investigations into shooting or death situations involving officers. Under the heading Officer-Involved Shootings of the Manual, the document states, “Each officer of the SCPD involved shall be given reasonable paid administrative leave following an officer-involved shooting or death.” said. The relevant policy falls under the header titled “Research Process” and its content is characterized as “Guidelines”.
Pursuant to policy, the Division’s Professional Standards Unit conducts separate internal administrative investigations into the conduct of officers. The results of that investigation will be placed in the executive’s confidential personnel file, according to the manual.
Officers were first called to the 300 block on Lee Street at 5:49 a.m. Saturday after residents reported a man walking into their backyard and pointing a gun at them. Police were directed to a vehicle she said she believed was doing so. In a subsequent police radio dispatch, officers announced the “shooting” at 5:53 a.m., four minutes after the initial emergency call was broadcast. By 5:56 a.m., officers at the scene reported that a gun had been thrown out of the car one man was in.
