Man Overboard Call Results In Shots Fired
This is a perfect example of how we can never allow ourselves to become complacent with our job. How common is it for us to respond to the call of Man Overboard or Person in the Water, but never expect to have to draw our weapon. Anytime you ever put on that LE belt, be ready for anything…as this story illustrates. It points out the importance of weapons and situational awareness, even if your just out there to help some guy out of the water. Be sure to discuss this with your LE folks, especially the new members. From the website Law Officer:
***UPDATE: From the SD Coroners office: The subjects toxicology tests revealed: amphetamines, methamphetamine, Doxylamine, a sedative and Ketamine, an animal tranquilizer, in his system. A urine test also indicated the presence of two anabolic steroids.
San Diego Police Rescue, Then Kill, Aggressive Man
- Ari B. Bloomekatz
- Los Angeles Times
- 2008 Jul 21
SAN DIEGO — A man who went overboard during a party cruise in San Diego Bay was killed by police Saturday night after he attacked the officers who had tried to rescue him, police said today.
Police said the man was on the cruise with at least 800 other people when he somehow ended up in the water after 11 p.m. He was identified today as Steven Paul Hirschfield, 37, of Los Angeles.
The boat’s captain sent a distress signal, and two Harbor Police boats and one Coast Guard vessel pulled Hirschfield from the water.
But Hirschfield began fighting with police as soon as he was on board, said San Diego Harbor Police Sgt. Dave Fouser.
“You’re trying to help some guy out the water, and he’s fighting,” Fouser said. “He became very combative with the officers, and somewhere in the course of the fight, he was able to get one of the officer’s Tasers away from him.”
Fouser said Hirschfield knocked one officer to the deck and then used the Taser to strike him in the face.
When Hirschfield then tried to grab one of the officer’s guns, Fouser said, the other officer shot him.
Hirschfield was taken ashore to an ambulance and was pronounced dead from the single gunshot wound, Fouser said.
The San Diego Police Department’s homicide unit was investigating the shooting along with the San Diego Harbor Police Department and the county District Attorney’s Office.
It’s unclear how many of the 800 passengers on the party cruise saw the incident, but police said they took the names and contact information for all those on board.
END RESULT POST INVESTIGATION: The Harbor Police officer involved the fatal shooting will not face prosecution by the District Attorney’s Office. District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis announced in a letter that Officer Clyde Williams was “justified” in the shooting of Steven Paul Hirschfield, 37, of Los Angeles. The letter states that his “use of deadly force was reasonable under the circumstances.”
Filed Under: Crimes
