A California man stepped out of his car during a traffic stop wielding a loaded rifle, apparently believing it would lead to a kumbaya moment with the officers.
A Bakersfield cop ended up shooting him multiple times.
Now Jose Vaca remains incarcerated on a $400,000 bond, charged with 11 criminal counts.
What the hell was he thinking?
The 29-year-old man said he was conversing with a friend a few months ago about police brutality where she was saying that all cops are bad and he was saying that not all cops are bad.
The conversation remained in his mind for several months, so when was pulled over on December 19, he figured it would be the perfect opportunity to test his theory.
And what better way to test the theory than step out of the car with a loaded illegal rifle?
“First thing that came to my mind is I’m already going to get pulled over,” he told NBC 12 during a jailhouse interview.
“I know they’re most likely going to take me in, but I’m going to try my theory real quick and see that it’s true so she can believe there’s good officers in the world.”
So he not only broke the unspoken rule of never stepping out of your car until a cop permits it, which makes them fear for their lives, he stepped out with the loaded rifle, which really makes them fear for their lives.
Vaca had purchased the .22 caliber rifle at a flea market, but because he is a convicted felon, he was not allowed to possess it.
“I exit my vehicle, I come to the front of the police vehicle, I put my butt of the rifle on the floor and I just put my hand up,” Vaca said.
Bakersfield police officer Christian Hernandez responded by opening fire.
“Soon as I hit the ground, I just attempted to play dead, and then they fired a couple more shots at me from the back as I was lying on the ground,” he said.
Police say they only shot nine times. He said he was shot 12 times.
Three of the bullets tore completely through his body, which left him hospitalized for ten days before he was transferred to jail on charges of possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and participating in a criminal street gang.
“What I was hoping for them to do was tell me, ‘Drop the gun! Back away from the firearm! Get on the ground! Turn around!’ And it was going to be an arrest,” he said. “But I was completely wrong.”
“It’s a blessing I’m alive,” he added.
It certainly is a blessing considering the Bakersfield Police Department last year was named the deadliest law enforcement agency in the country.
