By David Hernandez
The San Diego Union-Tribune
SAN DIEGO — San Diego police shot a woman with beanbag rounds and used a police dog to take her into custody in downtown Tuesday after she allegedly stabbed a man and refused to drop the knife, police said.
The arrest was recorded by a bystander, and the video was circulated on social media.
Police said a 911 caller reported seeing a woman stab a man about noon on Ninth Avenue near Broadway. The caller gave a description of the assailant and said the victim was walking away.
Officers found him suffering from a stab wound to his left arm. He was taken to a hospital.
They also located the suspected assailant, who, according to police, was still holding the knife. Police said the woman was agitated and ignored officers’ commands to drop the weapon.
Officers fired beanbag rounds and used a police dog to detain her, police said. She was taken to a hospital — the extent of her injuries were unknown — and was expected to be booked into jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and other charges.
A Twitter user circulated a 45-second video that shows the arrest.
The clip shows a woman standing on a sidewalk and 12 officers, some with guns drawn, standing in the street near police vehicles and a parked car. They instruct the woman to “drop the knife” as she clutches something — it’s unclear what — in both hands.
Suddenly, an officer aiming what appears to be a beanbag shotgun at the woman fires four rounds. Another officer lets go of a police dog, which takes down the woman as she runs away and rounds a corner. The officers then run up to the woman and surround her.
The video clip ends with the witness saying, “They (expletive) shot her.”
This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.
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