By Kimberly Veklerov
July 25, 2016
A Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputy remains on paid leave after he was charged with misdemeanors for brandishing a gun in a Jack in the Box drive-through in January during a night of drinking and partying with friends, officials said.
Now, a video of the police response has gone viral, with tens of thousands watching the clip that shows police officers training their guns on Deputy Benjamin Lee and a police dog standing by until he and his passenger exit the vehicle with their hands raised.
On Jan. 10 at 2:40 a.m., employees at the fast food joint in Santa Clara called 911 when a man ordering food became impatient and brandished his handgun at two Jack in the Box workers.
Deputy District Attorney George Tran said Lee, who wasn’t on duty at the time, had been out partying with friends before hitting the drive-through for some grub.
Responding police officers were not aware the suspect was a sheriff’s deputy, but they wouldn’t have responded any differently, said Lt. Dan Moreno of the Santa Clara Police Department.
A pretrial conference was scheduled for Wednesday in Santa Clara Superior Court. Lee has pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charges.