San Jose: Man in custody smashes out window, falls to death at O’Connor Hospital

The man used a metal oxygen tank to smash a window after assaulting a San Jose police officer and threatening hospital staff, police said.

SAN JOSE — Investigators are probing the death of a man who fell out of a window he shattered with a metal oxygen tank while in custody at O’Connor Hospital this week, authorities said.

The man was taken into custody after he allegedly violated a court order, but was admitted to the hospital for a pre-existing medical condition, San Jose police said in a news release Friday. Around 2 a.m. Thursday, police said, he assaulted the officer who was guarding him, threatening to strike that officer and a nurse with a metal oxygen tank.

After the officer and hospital staff retreated to call for additional resources, the man — then alone in the room — allegedly used the oxygen tank to smash the window and jump onto a ledge. He fell roughly 20 feet from the ledge, despite efforts from two security guards and the officer on site to intervene, and sustained life-threatening injuries, police said.

The man received immediate medical care and was transported to a different trauma hospital, where police said he was later pronounced dead.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office and SJPD’s Homicide Unit have initiated a joint criminal investigation, according to a statement released Friday. The case is being monitored by the department’s Internal Affairs Unit, the City Attorney’s Office and staff working for San Jose’s Independent Police Auditor.

The man’s identity was not released Saturday, pending confirmation and notification of his next-of-kin by the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office.