Watch San Diego Police Stop Ax-Wielding Suspect after Rampage

By Caleb Lunetta

Source The San Diego Union-Tribune

Body-worn camera footage released Friday shows a San Diego police officer shoot and wound an ax-wielding man who had allegedly threatened library patrons and officers in Pacific Beach earlier this month.

William John Hanley, 53, was shot by Officer Dominic Bloemendaal after Hanley reportedly destroyed property and threatened people at the Pacific Beach Taylor Branch Library, near the intersection of Dawes Street and Thomas Avenue, on May 8.

Hanley survived his injuries and later pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest, exhibiting a weapon with intent to resist and vandalism, investigators said.

Bloemendaal is a seven-year department veteran assigned to the Northern Division patrol unit.

The county Sheriff’s Office is handling the investigation under a reciprocal agreement with San Diego police, so neither department investigates its own officers or deputies.

The edited video released Friday includes security-camera, dash-camera and Bloemendaal’s body-worn camera footage. It begins with text that says, on the day of the incident, officers received a call around 4:20 p.m. of a man armed with an ax causing a disturbance inside the library.

The video cuts to surveillance camera footage from inside the library at the time of the incident. The footage, which does not include audio, shows Hanley approach a librarian — who is standing behind the circulation desk — with an ax raised in his left hand.

After a short confrontation with the librarian, the video shows Hanley entering the adult computer area. He begins hacking at power cords at unoccupied desks, exchanges words with a library patron and smashes two computers with the ax.

Hanley then walks back toward the front of the library, where employees are seen keeping their distance and remaining behind the circulation desk. A woman, who appears to be a security guard, takes out her phone and begins filming the incident.

Dash-camera footage captured by a car parked across the street shows Hanley leaving the library and walking down a sidewalk across the street.

Multiple officers arrive, exit their vehicles and begin approaching Hanley from different sides of the street, the video shows. Police are heard on their body-worn cameras giving Hanley commands.

“Put it down, put the ax down,” Bloemendaal says repeatedly to Hanley. “Drop it, drop it.”

Hanley begins walking toward Bloemendaal. With his gun raised, Bloemendaal backs away from the armed man and instructs his fellow officers to do the same. But Hanley changes his direction and heads toward the other officers who had approached from the other side.

Bloemendaal then walks forward while the man’s back is turned, and Hanley immediately turns back toward the officer, the video shows.

Throughout the video captured by the body-worn camera, Hanley appears to keep the ax in his hand. He is heard telling officers to walk away from him, among other indistinguishable comments.

When he’s within a few feet of Bloemendaal, Hanley pulls back his arm and raises the ax above his head. Bloemendaal then opens fire, shooting multiple rounds as Hanley falls to the ground.

Bloemendaal kicks the ax away from the wounded assailant, and officers begin to perform life-saving measures until paramedics arrive. Hanley was taken to a hospital and survived his injuries.

After the Sheriff’s Office completes its investigation, the District Attorney’s Office will review it, as it does all shootings involving law enforcement, to determine whether the officers bear any criminal liability.

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