The San Diego County Sheriff's Department released video Friday of a fatal shooting that occurred last week in Little Italy after a woman stabbed a San Diego Police Department officer in the chest.
The incident took place at around 12:30 p.m. on March 3, in the 400 block of W. Beech Street in Little Italy.
The video shows a San Diego County Sheriff's deputy serving an eviction notice to the woman identified as Yan Li, 47, at the Aqua Vista condo complex. When she answers the door, she receives the notice from the deputy and is seen carrying a knife. The deputy tells her to drop the knife and then takes out his gun and points it at Li.
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The deputy repeats commands to drop the knife multiple times, while Li shouts concerns about how to know whether the deputy is an imposter. The two continue to argue before Li throws out the notice and closes the door. That's when the deputy calls for backup.
SDPD K9 arrived at the scene along with additional deputies. They tried to communicate with Li for the next 45 minutes before they went inside her condo, according to SDPD Lt. Matt Dobbs. The footage released by SDSO shows a supervisor attempting to speak with Li through the door.
Li didn't answer, so authorities broke through the door and instructed Li to show her hands while pointing their guns at her. Li then ran at the officers with a knife and allegedly stabbed an SDPD K9 officer in the chest. Li continued wielding a knife toward the officers after they fell on the ground, and then three SDSO deputies and one SDPD officer fired multiple shots at Li.
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Li was struck at least once and died at the scene, according to Dobbs.
The Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT) was called to the scene, but it's unclear if and when they showed up.
Dobbs added that Li threatened a custodial worker at the building a day before. SDSO said in the video that based on the reported crime, there was a threat to public safety and probable cause to arrest Li for assault with a deadly weapon before entering her apartment.
The injured K9 officer was treated at UC San Diego Medical Center for his injuries was released. He was wearing a protective vest but was stabbed above it in his upper chest, according to Dobbs.
The personnel who fired their guns during the encounter have been identified as SDPD Officer Rogelio Medina, and Sheriff's Sgt. Daniel Nickel and Deputies Javier Medina and David Williams.
Medina, a member of the SDPD Canine Unit, has been with the department for 13 years. Nickel has been employed by the Sheriff's Department for 29 years, Medina for 23 years and Williams for 14 years.
The shooting is under investigation by SDPD's homicide unit. When the investigation is finished, it will be reviewed by the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office to determine if the officers bear any criminal liability for their actions.
The San Diego County Sheriff's department posted the incident video on their Vimeo. Warning: The video contains graphic imagery and or language.
