A civil rights lawyer described the incident as ‘unnecessary escalation’
Bodycam footage from a San Diego cop shows the horrifying moment a colleague of his was stabbed while trying to serve an eviction notice.
Newly released footage from March 3 shows Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Bunch knocking on the door of Yan Li, 47, at the Acqua Vista Condominiums in San Diego, reports the San Diego Tribune.
“Here’s a notice to evict,” Bunch tells Li, who just so happens to be holding a huge knife at her side.
The atmosphere grows suddenly tense as Bunch shouts: “Put the knife down right now or I’m gonna f*****g shoot!”
Drawing his weapon, he repeats, “Put the knife down. Put the f*****g knife down,” to which Li questions: “How could I know you are not intruder?”
With his weapon now pointed at Li, Bunch continues to demand that she put the knife down.
“Put the gun down, ma’am, I’m gonna shoot you! Put the f*****g gun down,” he can be heard shouting.
However Li was having none of it, choosing instead to accuse him of being a fake cop before throwing down the eviction notice and slamming the door shut.
The footage continues more than half an hour later, at which point more officers have arrived alongside police dogs after hearing that Li had threatened building employees the day before.
Officers were able to enter the apartment using a key but were faced with an uncooperative Li who refused to come quietly despite being shot with non-lethal ‘bean bag’ rounds. Li charges officers, sending them back into the hallway where a number of them fell to the ground.
In the chaos, shots are discharged. Li falls face down and an officer shouts that he has been stabbed. The wounded officer was later treated at UC San Diego Medical Center before being released later that day.
Those who discharged shots were also identified as sheriff Sgt. Daniel Nickel, deputies Javier Medina and David Williams and police officer Rogelio Medina. All four officers have been placed on desk duty while an investigation is carried out, reports KPBS.
Los Angeles civil rights attorney John Carpenter dubbed the confrontation a “classic example of unnecessary escalation of a conflict resulting in a lawful shooting.”
He also told the Tribune: “The (deputy’s) job was done, he’s a process server … you serve the process and then leave.”
Similar conclusions have been drawn on social media, where people have criticised the tactics employed by officers.
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