the 07/23/2008

Dancer shot after jumping ship, attacking officer

Dancer shot after jumping ship, attacking officer

By ALLISON HOFFMAN – 3 hours ago

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A cruise ship dancer who jumped 30 feet offa deck into San Diego Bay last weekend was killed by police afterattacking an officer who had helped pull him onto a rescue boat,officials said Monday.

Steven Hirschfield, 37, a performer and bodybuilder who lived inWest Hollywood, was hired to dance aboard Saturday night's CircuitDaze harbor cruise, a dance party attended by about 900 revelers aspart of the weekend's gay pride celebrations.

Crew members aboard the Hornblower Cruises boat Inspiration calledharbor police just after 11 p.m., about an hour into the cruise, toreport a man overboard. Hirschfield, clad only in shorts andsneakers, refused to climb aboard a small rescue vessel or grabflotation devices, according to Jim Unger, general manager forHornblower Cruises.

"He didn't want to come aboard," Unger said. "There was somethingwrong. Logically, when people go in the water, if they fell ordidn't want to be there, they would quickly want to get help."

Police said Hirschfield apparently jumped off the boat voluntarilybut did not know why. He initially refused to climb onto the swimdeck of a harbor patrol boat but then hauled himself onto the frontend by a hanging rope, said acting San Diego police Lt. WilliamStetson.

Once on the boat, Hirschfield grabbed an officer's stun gun andbeat him in the face before reaching for the officer's weapon,according to harbor police Lt. John Forsythe. A second officer thenfatally shot Hirschfield in the chest. The injured officer wastreated for face and leg injuries.

The officers' names have not been released. The San Diego districtattorney's office and police homicide investigators willinvestigate the shooting.

Toxicology reports will be completed in about a month, according tothe San Diego County medical examiner's office.

According to court records, Hirschfield was arrested in 2004 forpossession of a controlled substance, but charges were dropped in2006 after he agreed to an 18-month drug rehabilitation program. Amessage left with Hirschfield's attorney in the case was notimmediately returned.

Circuit Daze promoter Bill Hardt did not respond to messages leftby The Associated Press seeking comment. Efforts to reachHirschfield's relatives were unsuccessful.