Jul 20, 2008 3:31 pm US/Pacific
Man Who Fell Overboard Rescued, Then Fatally Shot
SAN DIEGO (AP) ―
Harbor patrol officers shot and killed a man they rescued from San Diego Bay after he began fighting with them, police said Sunday.
Steven Paul Hirschfield, 37, of Los Angeles was found in the water late Saturday by two officers responding to reports that a man fell from a party cruise with some 900 passengers aboard, Harbor Police Lt. John Forsythe said.
Hirschfield got onto the rescue vessel "and essentially began to attack the officers," Forsythe said.
During the fight, Hirschfield took one officer's stun gun and beat him in the face with it, Forsythe said. When Hirschfield tried to take the officer's handgun, the other officer shot him in the chest, he said.
Hirschfield was taken to shore where paramedics pronounced him dead, Forsythe said.
The injured officer was treated for face and leg injuries, he said.
The San Diego police department and the county district attorney's office were investigating the shooting.
Forsythe said it was not unusual for Harbor Police to rescue people who fall overboard from party boats during the summer, but such incidents usually end with the revelers being taken to get detox treatments.
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