Woman Being Served Eviction Notice Tries To Stab Cop, Gets Shot Dead In San Diego

LITTLE ITALY — Sheriff’s officials on Friday released footage of deputies and a police officer shooting and killing a woman last week inside a Little Italy condo complex after she stabbed a police officer during the service of an eviction notice.

The videos show the first deputy almost immediately drawing his gun and threatening to shoot 47-year-old Yan Li when he sees her holding the knife. Later, deputies and officers barge into her unit, and after she charges at the them with the blade, several of them shoot her in her doorway as their colleagues fall over each other in the crowded hallway.

A civil rights attorney who viewed the footage said the shooting appeared to be lawful because the woman had attacked the officers and deputies, but questioned and criticized the actions of the law enforcement personnel in the leadup to the shooting.

The heavily edited video released by the Sheriff’s Department depicts events that occurred March 3 at the Acqua Vista Condominiums on West Beech Street near State Street. It starts with body-worn camera footage from Deputy Jason Bunch, who knocks on the door and rings a doorbell at Li’s fifth-floor condo. She opens the door, and Bunch confirms her name and hands her paperwork.

“Here’s a notice to evict,” he says.

“What?” she replies, taking the paperwork.

“Here’s your notice for ...” Bunch starts to say when he suddenly notices Li holding a large butcher knife or meat cleaver in her right hand, down at her side.

Bunch points at the knife, then draws his handgun as he says: “Put the knife down right now or I’m gonna (expletive) shoot.” He continues to repeat the order, yelling: “Put the knife down. Put the (expletive) knife down,” according to the video.

Li shouts back for him to put his gun down. “How could I know you are not intruder?” she asks him.

Bunch keeps her at gunpoint, yelling for her to put the weapon down, alternating between calling it a knife and a gun.

“Put the gun down, ma’am, I’m gonna shoot you. Put the (expletive) gun down,” he yells.

Sheriff’s officials said in the video that Li accused Bunch of being an “imposter.” She can be heard yelling “Call the police.”

Bunch tells Li several more times to drop the knife, warning that he’ll shoot her if she comes at him. Li responds that she’s not afraid and that she’s not coming at him. Then she accuses him of being a fake police officer and asks where his badge is before throwing the paperwork into the hallway and slamming the door.

The video resumes about eight minutes later when Bunch’s supervisor arrives and Li can be heard shouting from behind the closed door. Then another 40 minutes later, the video resumes with deputies and San Diego police officers with dogs preparing to enter Li’s unit.

According to police and sheriff’s officials, while waiting on the backup personnel, deputies learned that the previous day, Li had threatened the complex’s manager and a maintenance worker with a knife.