SAN DIEGO (CN) - San Diego cops killed an unarmed cruise ship entertainer after he fell overboard, the man's parents say. Steven Hirschfield's parents say police shot him in the back after fishing him from San Diego Bay.
After falling from the ship on July 19, Hirschfield swam toward shore for 20 minutes before Harbor Police Officers Clyde Williams and Wayne Schmidt pulled their patrol boat alongside Hirschfield, some 500 feet from the shore, according to the federal complaint.
Hirschfield refused to climb into the boat, allegedly saying he preferred to swim to safety.
His parents say Williams and Schmidt forced their son into the boat, "exhausted and wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts." Then, they say, Schmidt "initiated a struggle" with Hirschfield and tried to Taser his wet body.
When the Taser dart missed, Williams pulled out his gun and shot him in the back, his parents say.
"Steven Hirschfield, an unarmed man alleged to have done nothing more than enter the San Diego Bay without permission, was killed," the complaint states.
Hirschfield's parents are represented by Eric Maier and Brian Claypool.
San Diego police officers shoot someone about once every three weeks.
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