First-Hand Accounts Posted in San Diego Pride Shooting

More details have emerged with respect to the incident in which a dancer hired for a San Diego gay pride cruise was shot dead by police, with party goers on board the boat subsequently questioned by authorities.

As reported on July 21 at EDGE the incident unfolded during San Diego Pride weekend, just after 11:00 p.m. on Sat., July 18, when a man was reported as having fallen overboard from a boat that had been chartered for a gay pride cruise.

When a harbor patrol boat attempted a rescue, the man in the water, Steven Hirschfield, 37, from West Hollywood, seemed unwilling to grab a flotation device that had been thrown to him, reports said. Then Hirschfield climbed into the police boat, grabbed an officer's taser, and began beating the officer with the taser. Hirschfield then reportedly attempted to gain control of the officer's firearm; at that point, another officer on the police boat shot Hirschfield in the chest.

Paramedics pronounced Hirschfield dead.

The Associated Press ran a story on the fatality in which Hirschfield was described as a body builder and a perfomer. Hirschfield had been hired to dance at the on-board party which was part of the chartered boat excursion, the Circuit Daze cruise of San Diego harbor, the AP story said.

The San Diego Union-Tribune published a July 21 account in which further details emerged, including witnesses on the boat's top deck who said that they had seen Hirschfield, still dressed in his dance ensemble of white briefs, looking "pensive" as he ordered a drink from the bar.

Then, with his drink in his hand, witnesses said, Hirschfield made his way over the railing and dropped into the water below.

The boat, named Inspiration, had been leased for the occasion by Bill Hardt Presents. The owner of the company, Bill Hardt, issued a release in which he said, "On behalf of and for all of attendees last night, we are saddened by the evening's turn of events."

Continued the release, "We would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the friends and family of Steven Hirschfield."

Hardt added, "I would also like to extend our appreciation to those aboard the cruise who were so gracious, patient, supportive and understanding as the events unfolded."

The Union-Tribune reported that the Harbor Police officers involved were Wayne Schmidt, the five-year veteran of the force whom Hirschfield reportedly assaulted, and a 20-year veteran, Clyde Williams, who shot Hirschfield.

Both officers are on paid leave during the investigation into the shooting, the newspaper reported. About 800 cruise participants were on board at the time of the incident, the Union-Tribune article said.

Given that Hirschfield did not seem anxious to be rescued, the theory is that he leapt from the boat, falling about 30 feet before hitting the water.

The general manager of Hornblower Cruises, Jim Unger, was quoted by the AP as saying that Hirschfield "didn't want to come aboard" the police boat. Continued Unger, "There was something wrong."

Added Unger, "Logically, when people go in the water, if they fell or didn't want to be there, they would quickly want to get help."

Lt. William Stateson of the San Diego police said that Hirschfield had climbed aboard the harbor patrol boat after at first refusing to come aboard.

At that time, said harbor police Lt. John Forsythe, Hirschfield got hold of the officer's taser and began his assault. When Hirschfield tried to take possession of the officer's weapon, he was shot and sustained a chest wound.

The San Diego County Medical Examiner's office indicated that answers as to whether Hirschfield was intoxicated may have to wait as long a month for toxicology results, the AP reported.

In 2004, Hirschfield was placed under arrest for drug possession, though the charges were later dropped when Hirschfield entered a rehab treatment program.

Internet postings from cruise participants offered further details. The cruise had not yet been under way for two hours, when there was a report about someone jumping overboard. At that point, the boat returned to the dock, while the music and dancing continued. No one was reportedly allowed to disembark from the boat until police opened a hatch at around 2 a.m.

At that point, the party goers were allowed off the boat in groups of about 30, and then, wrote one blogger, everyone was apparently "corralled outside, on dock, held in another separate holding area, again slowly herded down [the] dock to numerous waiting tables with officers, lined up for then individual interviews, where ID information was then taken contact info logged, and then, and only then, we were finally released to glorious freedom!" Added the blogger, "It was just a mess."

A number of the cruise participants were thrown into a panic by the sudden appearance of the police and the fact that they were not allowed to disembark except in small groups, after which they were questioned and released.

At gay news site Towleroad a commentator wrote of his first-hand acquaintance with Hirschfield. "I knew Steve. Not well, but he dated a friend of mine for about nine months last year and I had spent a fair amount of time with him when they were together. He was a human being, and a kind one. He did not deserve what happened to him. It was senseless and preventable."

Continued the posting, "I have no idea what htranspired that day that would have made him do something that would be so clearly endangering to himself, but unfortunately I understand why the situation unfolded as it did.Still, the whole thing never should have happened."
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