The instant a San Diego woman went ballistic and stabbed an officer, cops issuing an eviction notice shot her dead, according to harrowing bodycam footage.
On March 3, Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Bunch knocked on the door of Yan Li, 47, at the Acqua Vista Condominiums, according to recently released video.
According to the San Diego Union Tribune, Bunch informs the woman, who is seen clutching a huge knife at her side, “Here’s a notice to evict.”
“Put down the knife right now or I’ll f—- shoot!” As he draws his service pistol, the deputy exclaims. “Place the knife on the table. “Drop the f—- knife!”
“How could I know you are not an intruder?” shouts the resident back.
As he points his gun at the woman, Bunch continues to order her to put down her weapon.
“Put the gun down, ma’am, I’m gonna shoot you! Put the f—- gun down,” he yells as she accuses him of being a fake cop, asks where his badge is, throws the papers on the ground and slams the door.
The redacted video then shows a sergeant with the sheriff’s department shouting at the woman behind her closed door as she continues to yell from inside.
The footage resumes more than a half-hour later when San Diego police officers arrive with dogs.
Police found out that Li had also threatened her complex’s managers and a maintenance worker with a knife a day before, according to the news outlet.
“Based on this reported crime, there was a threat to public safety,” the video reportedly says. “This is also probable cause to arrest Li for assault with a deadly weapon.”
The footage then shows police entering the unhinged woman’s apartment using a key. At one point, a deputy is heard shouting “bean bag” before firing the less-than-lethal weapon at Li, who is standing by the bedroom.
But the projectile fails to incapacitate the woman, who proceeds to charge at the deputies and officers, who are seen retreating to the hallway outside the apartment in the ensuing chaos.
In the pandemonium, several cops are seen stumbling to the floor before shots are fired and Li falls face down as one officer is heard shouting that he was stabbed.
The wounded cop was treated at UC San Diego Medical Center and released later in the day, the Tribune reported.
The four law enforcement personnel who opened fire have been identified as sheriff’s Sgt. Daniel Nickel, deputies Javier Medina and David Williams and police Officer Rogelio Medina, according to the paper.
Los Angeles civil rights attorney John Carpenter called the incident a “classic example of unnecessary escalation of a conflict resulting in a lawful shooting.”
He added: “The (deputy’s) job was done, he’s a process server … you serve the process and then leave.”
Carpenter described Li as “a woman in crisis who is losing her home and who is being aggravated by the situation unnecessarily by law enforcement.”
The four officers have been placed on desk duty pending an investigation into the deadly shooting, according to KPBS, which noted that such temporary reassignments after incidents of lethal police force are routine.
Neither sheriff’s officials nor the San Diego police lieutenant whose unit is investigating the shooting responded to questions from the Tribune.
Many people who viewed the disturbing video on YouTube channel PoliceActivity, which has 3.27 million subscribers, called into question the police tactics used in the incident and said all those involved should undergo additional training.