SJPD: Naked man shot by police was armed with caulking gun

A naked man shot several times Friday by San Jose police officers who thought he was armed was actually holding a harmless caulking gun, officials said Monday.

John Bradley Bowles, a 53-year-old from San Jose, remained in critical condition at a local hospital Monday following his shooting by three officers in the crowded parking lot of a shopping center, said San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia.

Bowles had a history of mental illness, Garcia said while defending the actions of his officers, who maintained they feared for their lives and those of others in the crowded parking lot where Bowles was shot after an erratic, long pursuit.

“When the individual points what turns out to be a caulking gun — but in a threatening manner, as if it were a gun — at an officer, I certainly think that there were some issues,” Garcia said.

At a news conference Monday, Chief Eddie Garcia of the San Jose Police Department said that three officers who critically shot a naked San Jose man Friday remained on paid administrative leave Monday, as the suspect remained in critical condition at a local hospital. less At a news conference Monday, Chief Eddie Garcia of the San Jose Police Department said that three officers who critically shot a naked San Jose man Friday remained on paid administrative leave Monday, as the ... more Photo: The Chronicle / Jenna Lyons Photo: The Chronicle / Jenna Lyons Image 1 of / 28 Caption Close SJPD: Naked man shot by police was armed with caulking gun 1 / 28 Back to Gallery

All three officers — Todd Ahyo, a 24-year veteran, Erick Enderle, a 21-year-old veteran and William Wolfe, a 22-year veteran — were placed on paid administrative leave, a routine move after such an incident, officials said.

The officer-involved shooting, one of several throughout the Bay Area over the past two weeks, followed a 4-mile-long pursuit of Bowles as he evaded police in a pickup truck, crashing into cars along the way, police said.

A caller had reported a “naked man walking in the street” around Eva Court and Valerie Drive, a residential area in West San Jose, at 1:34 p.m., police said. He approached a woman and a child and ran naked after other children in the area, police said.

When officers tried to apprehend the naked Bowles, he fled, striking a parked car and a patrol car in the process, police said.

The prolonged chase ended in the parking lot of a shopping center at Stevens Creek Boulevard and Lawrence Expressway, police said.

As police surrounded him, Bowles allegedly aimed the caulking gun — which police said that from a distance they thought was a real weapon — at the officers. One officer then fired, Garcia said.

Bowles, still naked, then revved the engine of his pickup and all three officers shot at him, Garcia said. The officers later said they feared Bowles would gun the engine through the parking lot crowded with shoppers, running them down under his truck, the chief said.

No one except Bowles was injured, police said.

“It happened extremely quickly,” Garcia said.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office was conducting an investigation into the shooting, including examining body camera footage of the involved officers.

Bowles was held under $75,000 bail at the hospital on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, annoying or molesting a child, evading police and misdemeanor hit-and-run, authorities said.

Jenan Lyons and Michael Bodley are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com and mbodley@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @jennajourno and @michael_bodley