Video Shows Police Shooting Knife-Wielding Man in Wheelchair
- Posted on January 6, 2011 at 9:56am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco police say a knife-wielding man in a wheelchair stabbed an officer before the attacker was shot.
Officers were called to the Department of Public Health building Tuesday morning by witnesses who said the agitated man was slashing tires on parked cars.
An officer was stabbed in the shoulder.
The police chief says officers tried to subdue the man with pepper spray and eventually a bean bag round before the shooting.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports the man got out of the wheelchair and walked around at one point.
Police released a witness cell phone video showing four officers surrounding the suspect in his wheelchair before the shooting.
The suspect and wounded officer are in the hospital with non life-threatening wounds.
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Information from: San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle



















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Comments (102)
Halsey58
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 11:29amAnother loon …oops.. that was one of Pelosi’s opponents in the last election. See how he ended up. Don’t mess with Pelosi!
Report Post »Cigar
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 11:25amNote to self; Don’t throw a knife at a COP…
Report Post »Helldogger
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 11:20amAll you folks scared that Oblaublau will install martial law if we disagree with him. This is who will be enforcing it.
Report Post »Raptor
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 11:15am4 cops with guns vs. 1 cripple in wheelchair with knife
Report Post »Slap dunk case, big city money lost …..a lawyers dream!
dumb move by cop, should have tased him, netted him, etc.
Verdict = Lawyer gets new Cadillac paid for by City
Avi8or
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 11:31amProbably right… Which is too bad.
Consider this: http://blogidaho.blogspot.com/2007/01/why-cops-shoot-guys-with-knives.html
WARNING: Some pictures of an officer who was an expert knife fighter, who tried to disarm a suspect that “only had a knife.” If you have a weak stomach, I wouldn’t recommend looking.
Report Post »Seawolf
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 11:33amWell not really. Law Enforcement are trained to respond to certain threat levels using a use of force matrix. When someone has a knife, whether they are in a chair or not, is considered a deadly threat and the response is deadly force.
Now we as civilians look at that video and say, “Why couldn’t all those cops handle a cripple in a wheel chair?” but the guy had already stabbed one cop that tried that and the less than lethal wasn’t working. Basically, they were out of options.
Do you want to be the guy to approach him and risk getting stabbed in the neck after you already saw another Officer get stabbed? It‘s just not worth it and this ain’t Hollywood. At the end of the day the most important thing is you going home to your family and if that means some moron in a chair swinging a knife around get’s a round in the shoulder for his trouble then so be it.
Report Post »snowloepard2300
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 11:02amWhateverhesaid.
Sgt.Crust
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:53amUpon further thought, I think the man was in a really bad place, and he committed suicide by police…no wise crack here, I really think that, and the police seemed to willingly oblidge him…I pray for his lost soul, and the souls of the officers involved – and they really should have used a tazer on him, I still scratch my head on that one…???
Report Post »Sgt.Crust
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:59amcorrection, trying to committ suicide by police…AND I missed the part saying he got up out of the chair, if THAT truly is the case, then hell yeah shoot him, because now he is mobile and armed…I guess I spouted off a bit too soon and did not have ALL the facts in my head, my apologies to the police, if that is the case!
Report Post »1911a1
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:51amohh well , The Cops did a great job , i would have told him once to stop , if he didn’t he would have gotten all 5 bean bags , boom boom boom boom boom ! then he would have gotten cuffed and stuffed ! this trying to be humane , or sensitive or gentle is Bull$$$$ ! when an officer gives you instructions , you best follow them or you get what you get , ( and i hope it hurts like hell or worse !) if you cooperate and go through the process , your lawyer and day in court will produce the proper out come , if you were wrong , then you were wrong ! if you were right , or misunderstood or whatever , it will be decided in court ! that is the law . anyone ANYONE whom challenges or threatens a cop … too bad for you, you freaking moron !
Report Post »Sgt.Crust
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:41amLet’s see, they use tazers for large drunk men, and they use tazers for fans running on the field at a game, but they use lethal force on a guy in a wheelchair? ummmm, scratching head…
Report Post »191145ACP
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 12:22pmThey used deadly force on a man in a wheelchair who stabbed and seriously wounded a police officer. What ever happened to a TAZER? What ever happened to PUTTING THE KNIFE DOWN when Police with guns drawn demand you to?
Please do not make a victim out of this criminal
Report Post »getalong
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 12:43pmWhen he was ordered to drop his weapon, he should have. I hope the ******* in the wheelchair has to pay the medical bills for the police officer who will most likely have a screwed-up shoulder for the rest of his life, and maybe won’t beable to work in the field. When a police officer orders you to do something – DO IT!!!
Report Post »BiteMePETA
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:39amI agree KEA, of all the times a taser was called for, this was it… guess they were saving that for a traffic violator?
Report Post »Warphead
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:37amSeriously, a Taser would have put an end to his will to fight in about .50 seconds. It is by far the most humane (if used correctly) tool there is to stop someone from being combative. I don’t care where you get shot, it’s going to hurt a lot more and a lot longer than getting tazed.
Report Post »Sgt.Crust
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:37amWhat happened to using a TAZER, I mean this guy was in a wheelchair for goondess sake, oh, this is SF, our first NAZI city, I’m sorry I forgot, we live in a NAZI era police state now. You know the left has brought us to this – with entitlements and huge spending, bankrupting our country, now people are very frustrated, then the police slap them down with lethal force. America the Sad!
Report Post »lasthouseontheright
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:34amso let me see if I have got this right. The man in the wheelchair threw his weapon away and then the police shot him…seems like a clean shoot to me.
Report Post »ilovethiscountry
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 12:30pmI was looking to see if anyone else noticed this. The man was no longer armed when he was shot.
Report Post »ChiefGeorge
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 7:26pm“It was a pretty good sized knife” What does not mean. Was it 4 inches, 6 inches what? If he had a knife and apparantly he did because this is what he used to stab out the tires, then why was an officer close enough to him to be stabbed in the first place. Seems like the Cop let his guard down thereby placing himself in a dangerous situation calling for more drastic resolution of this matter. I think anytime someone who is shot at while in a wheelchair and has no fire arm himself is clearly excessive force. He must have been a Vet who they had no tolerance for and took em down. I’m throwing a flag on this one.
Report Post »Warphead
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:32amBack in the day we would have just stuck a broom handle through his spokes.
Report Post »irritated1
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 12:54pmNice! I forgot about that one.
Report Post »BlueCollared
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 3:47pmlmao, that would’ve been considered cruel and inhumane.
Report Post »Love Bandit Bestid
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:30amDid you ever get shot when you go stabbing in a wheelchair?
Report Post »I hate when that happens.
Xcori8r
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 11:27amYeah, and it seems like every time I’m evading at high speed in a stolen car after a drug deal they try to pit me.
What’s with that?
Report Post »shagstar
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:30amnice shot officer,,,perhap’s now,,the idiot will stay confined to his chair permanently.
Report Post »Spawnomite
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:30amGranted, he stabbed an officer.
Report Post »However, the lawyers are going to have a field day with this cashcow lawsuit.
Jon_ny
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 1:20pmI think you hit the nail squarely !!!! Still in concerns me that all those cops couldn’t subdue a person in a wheel chair. What will they due with an unruley muslim???
Report Post »Rickfromillinois
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:30amI am strongly opposed to all discrimination against the handicapped. It would be discriminatory if a man who stabbed a police officer was treated any differently then anyone else who attacked a police officer with a deadly weapon. The police would be more then justified if they had killed this murderous nutjob.
Report Post »KEA
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:25amWhy didnt anyone taser the guy. Non lethal and would have subdued him.
Another reason to loose faith in our law enforcment.
Report Post »BSdetector
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 2:24pmBecause he stabbed an Officer? The guy reaped what he‘d sown and I don’t care if hes blind, crippled, or crazy.
Report Post »Ron Burgundy
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:15amTexasfarmer- you may be onto something, i wonder how much welfare this nutjob collects, I bet he is not paying for his visit to the hospital.
Report Post »maxstout
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:14amSide note:
Report Post »George Gascon, who does your hair?
Looks like you just got out of the pool and never combed your hair!
HairyMark
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:12amI support the Police , but They coulda handle this one better. I bet Pres Obama wishes He hadn’t already used his “the police acted stupidly” comment already.
Report Post »Warphead
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:48amYea, but there’s always more beer. Maybe they can all just sit, drink a beer and let bygones be bygones.
Report Post »John0397
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 11:50amHairymark,
Report Post »How would you have handled it? I mean you obviously were there and saw the perp the entire time… and you understand police tactics and procedures so…….. how would you have handled it? You can’t answer the question, you can only monday morning quarterback the video which doesn’t show the full extent of the encounter.
Dirty Harry
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 6:11amJohn397, pay attention closely, this isn’t very complex. A man in a wheelchair with 4+ cops around is no threat – at least not one that warrants lethal force. One needs not have much imagination to realize that the man in the wheelchair could easily be corraled by 4 cops without risking injury.
This world is crazy that these things even have to be explained. John, stay in the house; you’re a danger to yourself and everyone around you. Obviously.
Report Post »John0397
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 5:25pmDirty Harry,
Report Post »You obviously missed the fact that this man was mobile on his feet as he had been out of the wheel chair. A suspect can cover a lot of ground quickly with a knife. The suspect had already assulted one officer who attempted to go hands on. You sir, have no clue as to what you are talking about. You do not understand policing and police tactics. The officers in this situation used non lethal bean bag shots to try to subdue the suspect. They could not use a taser because the mamby pamby city won’t allow them to have tasers. Your comments only reinforce the fact that you don’t understand the extents of the situation. I bid you a good day, and good luck living in your “I know what I am talking about” life.
Dirty Harry
Posted on January 8, 2011 at 9:40amJohno397, I know plenty about police procedures. I treat cops the same way they treat the average citizen: Guilty until proven innocent.
What goes around comes around. Or, karma, if you prefer.
Report Post »Dirty Harry
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:06amAmazing! We have birdbrain cops “protecting” us from wheelchair-bound people.
Report Post »texasfarmer
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:04amIf he got up and walked the situation changes. There are some people that use a handicap as a ploy to get money and that makes them mobile and a danger..
Report Post »IndyGuy
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:03amWow…A walking man brought a wheel chair and a knife to a gun fight…
Report Post »Dale
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:54amYeah, nancy’s relative.
Report Post »Psytoxic
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:02amWell, at least no one died.
Report Post »mtnclimberjim
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:14amThe cop that shot him needs to spend allot more time at the range. But then again it’s most likely not in his union contract to spend unpaid time at the range.
Report Post »snowleopard3200 {cat folk art}
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:25amAt the least here, they did not use lethal force; an officer was injured, and from what I could tell of the video (had problems getting it to run well), they did the best to subdue the man after the one officer had been injured.
The outcome of this could have been a lot worse on all sides.
For the man in the wheelchair, I hope he gets the help he needs.
http://www.artinphoenix.com/gallery/grimm
TrueGrit
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:55amShould have shot the tires out.
Wolverine
Report Post »Polwatcher
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:58amI guess the disabled person told the officer not to shoot him with a stun gun.
Report Post »Deuteronomy22
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 11:15amTrueGrit
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 10:55am
“Should have shot the tires out.”
LOL. Spike strips maybe?
Report Post »wildjoker5
Posted on January 6, 2011 at 1:21pmEqual opportunity, the people in wheelchairs deserve whealding a deadly weapon should be shot just as the next guy.
Report Post »Outside Looking In
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 2:55amA great day for San Francisco – Equal Rights in action!
Stab a police officer and you get shot, wheelchair or no.
Now, let‘s talk about that cop’s aim – he shot the perp in the groin?
What’s THAT all about?
Haha.
You just know Wheelie-Boy didn‘t wake up and think ’Hey, wouldn’t it be fun to go out and slash some tires, stab the Law, and get shot in the nuts? Yeah, think I’ll go and do that today!’
Report Post »Dirty Harry
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 6:06amThis is comical! What a bunch of keystone cops! Shooting a man in a wheelchair because he had a knife? Classy. Real classy!
Atrocities
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 6:11amThe guy was smirking about it. Why didn’t they just come up from behind him, and take him down that way? Simple, lack of training and professionalism in the SF PD.
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