Authorities Thursday publicly identified a lawman who got into a non-fatal shooting over Memorial Day weekend while investigating a violent disturbance near Petco Park.
San Diego police Officer Andres Ruiz opened fire on a 26-year-old woman who allegedly threatened him and fellow officers with a knife and fought with a service dog at her apartment in the 500 block of Park Boulevard in the East Village on Saturday evening, said SDPD Lt. Andra Brown.
The woman was hospitalized for treatment of gunshot injuries. Her name and the severity of her wounds have not been released.
The events that led to the shooting began shortly before 10 p.m., when several 911 callers reported being hit by glass thrown by a woman who lives in an upper-floor rental residence in a building just south of Market Street.
“When officers arrived at that location, they saw broken glass and furniture items on the east sidewalk,” Brown said.
Patrol personnel closed the area to the public and began trying to make contact with the woman, who ignored them and allegedly continued to throw things out of a window in her apartment.
“At times, the woman was armed with a knife when she appeared at the window,” the lieutenant said.
Eventually, police were able to get into the woman’s residence, finding that she had locked herself in her bathroom.
“They continued to give her verbal directions to come out and utilized various options, including chemical agents and a police canine, to take her into custody, but she was uncooperative,” Brown said.
As the encounter continued to escalate, the woman allegedly punched the police dog and threatened the officers with her knife, prompting Ruiz to shoot her.
The woman remains hospitalized, according to Brown. The officers and the police dog suffered no injuries during the fracas.
Ruiz, a canine-unit officer, has been with the San Diego Police Department for about 11 years, the lieutenant said.
— City News Service
