The San Diego Police Department released a video Thursday showing an officer shooting and wounding a woman after she allegedly stabbed a man multiple times in the East Village last month.
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Officer Yand Grijalva, a six-year department veteran, shot San Diego County resident Denise Guzman, 32, while she was actively attacking a man with a ballpoint pen April 15 near 16th Street and Island Avenue, investigators said.
Guzman survived and was later booked into jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, exhibiting a weapon to law enforcement and resisting arrest.
The edited video says that police dispatchers received a call of an “assault with a deadly weapon in progress.” The caller told the 911 operator that two homeless people were fighting, and one was stabbing the other with what appears to be either a knife or “a pick.”
The video cuts to body camera footage captured by Grijalva as the officer pulled up to the scene and exited his vehicle. Guzman appeared to be walking toward the man with the weapon in her right hand, and Grijalva raised his handgun in her direction.
“Drop the pick in your hand right now, drop the pick … or I will shoot you,” Grijalva yelled at Guzman.
As Grijalva continued to repeat his commands, Guzman started running toward the man, the video shows. At that moment, the officer fired his handgun multiple times, striking the woman at least twice in the chest.
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Guzman stopped running, turned toward the officer and was seemingly unfazed by her gunshot wounds, the video shows. Grijalva yelled at her multiple times to get on the ground and surrender.
The officer then backed up across the street while Guzman continued to advance toward him, the video shows. Another officer drove up to the advancing Guzman — stopping a few feet short of hitting her — and stopped the woman’s forward advancement toward Grijalva.
The other officer then exited his vehicle and began backpedaling, and Guzman started walking toward him, according to footage in the video.
Grijalva pulled out his Taser and fired at Guzman, causing her to fall to the ground. A third officer also fired his Taser at the woman, who then dropped a red pen from her hand.
She was taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries.
Sheriff’s homicide detectives are investigating the shooting under the terms of a countywide agreement that says agencies will not investigate fatal and nonfatal shootings involving their own officers.
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