Pleasanton police defend killing of 19-year-old near car showroom

Johnathon Deming, Jr., 19, of San Jose, was shot and killed by police in Pleasanton after allegedly breaking into a classic car dealership Sunday, June 5, 2015. Johnathon Deming, Jr., 19, of San Jose, was shot and killed by police in Pleasanton after allegedly breaking into a classic car dealership Sunday, June 5, 2015. Photo: Courtesy, Deming Family Photo: Courtesy, Deming Family Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close Pleasanton police defend killing of 19-year-old near car showroom 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

Pleasanton police officials said Tuesday that an officer shot and killed a 19-year-old man in self-defense because the man, while fleeing from a burglary, attacked the officer, knocked him to the ground and repeatedly punched him.

Officials gave a fuller account of the shooting a day after the parents of John Deming Jr. raised questions about it through attorneys they hired to press the case. They said their son was unarmed and had never been in trouble, and they objected to how they were treated after the shooting.

According to police, the incident began around 2 a.m. Sunday when officers responded to a burglar alarm at Specialty Sales Classics, an exotic car showroom on First Street.

Through the business’ all-glass facade, officers spotted Deming, who threw a jack weighing more than 50 pounds through one of the windows, officials said. At one point, police said, officers attempted to shoot Deming with a beanbag round, but missed.

Officials said Deming began jumping on top of the cars and screaming. They said officers entered the business, unsuccessfully using other “less-lethal” weapons on Deming before he made his way out of a broken window.

Fired a stun gun

Officer Daniel Kunkel, an eight-year veteran who was waiting near the rear of the business, ordered Deming to stop and fired a stun gun into his back after he refused, police said. Deming allegedly kept running. After Kunkel gave chase and tried to set up a perimeter over his radio, officials said, Deming turned and charged the officer, kicking him in the stomach and knocking him down before punching him in the face and slamming his head on the ground.

Kunkel, who “began to feel as if he was going to lose consciousness,” unsuccessfully tried to shock Deming with his Taser before pulling his pistol and shooting him in the chest, officials said. They said Deming continued to hit Kunkel, prompting the officer to fire two more times.

Other officers found Kunkel “unresponsive” next to Deming, who “continued to resist the officers as they handcuffed him,” officials said. Deming later died at a hospital, while Kunkel was treated for injuries and released.

Surveillance cameras

Police said that cameras were mounted throughout the business and that investigators were reviewing the footage.

The man’s family said the police account does not square with a young man who was a dedicated member of his church group and a musician. A recent graduate from Piedmont Hills High in San Jose, where he was a starter on the football team, Deming had never been arrested or in trouble with the law, said Ben Meiselas, a lawyer retained by the family.

“My son Johnathon has always been a kind, loving, well-mannered and talented young man who respected others, loved music and had a boundless thirst for life,” said John Deming Sr., a reserve police officer in Oakdale (Stanislaus County). “Johnathon was fun, helpful and outgoing, he always did the right thing. He valued his friends and family and put others first.”

Soon after the shooting, Meiselas said, officers showed up at the parents’ home and served a search warrant while detaining the mother in handcuffs and at gunpoint in her backyard.

Meiselas said his firm will be looking into the shooting as investigations are conducted by Pleasanton police, the Alameda County district attorney’s office and the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department.

Kale Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfkale