Officer Jeffrey Fontana #3792
Killed in the Line of Duty October 28, 2001
1977 - 2001 Age 24 Tour 9 months
We Honor the Sacrifice He Made
On October 28, 2001, Officer Fontana was assigned to the midnight shift (71A4) in the Southern Division. At 0200 hours, Officer Fontana and other officers responded to a call of a disturbance involving a fight and weapons on Rotterdam Lane. Two of the subjects that fled the disturbance were identified as Deshawn Campbell and Rodney McNary. At 0415 hours, Officer Fontana and a teammate decided to report write and as they traveled eastbound on Blossom Hill Road, his teammate noticed that Officer Fontana was no longer behind him. Officer Fontana had followed a vehicle into a residential neighborhood which pulled into the driveway of a residence at a dead-end street. Officer Fontana pulled in behind the vehicle and approached on foot. The driver of the vehicle fired a single shot from a handgun fatally striking Officer Fontana. The suspect then fled the scene on foot.
A 9-1-1 call was then received reporting that an officer was down. Officer Fontana was the first unit assigned by communications to respond to the call. After he did not respond to the radio, responding units found him lying next to his patrol vehicle. Officer Fontana was pronounced at the scene.
Suspect Campbell was identified the night of the incident and was taken into custody days later. On May 20, 2009, Suspect Campbell was found guilty of second degree murder.
Officer Fontana was the eleventh San Jose Police Officer killed in the line of duty.
