San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has completed investigation into the fatal shooting of Steven Paul Hirschfield on July 19, 2008, by Harbor Police Officer Clyde Williams. Dumanis concluded, under the applicable standard of review, Officer Williams’ use of deadly force was justified, and he bears no criminal liability for his actions.

“During this incident the officers were confronted by an individual who was acting bizarrely, perhaps in part as a result of having ingested various controlled substances that affect behavior and judgment,” Dumanis stated in a letter sent Feb. 26 to San Diego Harbor Police Chief Kirk Sanfilippo.

Hirschfield, 37, was shot in the middle of his back, and the bullet exited through his right chest, the San Diego County Office of the Medical Examiner concluded last August.

Hirschfield, of West Hollywood, was dancing aboard the Inspiration Hornblower yacht chartered for one of the official Pride party cruises – the Circuit Daze Harbor Cruise – on San Diego Bay when he jumped off the boat.

He was pronounced dead 31 minutes after the yacht’s captain alerted Harbor Police and the Coast Guard.

Hirschfield jumped from the ship and fought with officers sent on a boat to rescue him. Williams shot him after Hirschfield reached for the pistol of Officer Wayne Schmidt who was also aboard the rescue vessel.

“Williams’ use of deadly force was reasonable under the circumstances,” Dumanis stated.

Penal Code section 196 did not require the officer to wait and see if Hirschfield had actually gained possession of one of Schmidt’s firearms.

“To do so could have placed either or both officers in peril,” the District Attorney said.

Soon after the shooting, Hirschfield’s family filed claims seeking $20 million from the Harbor Police and Officer Williams, who pulled the trigger. Their attorney, Brian Claypool, said the officer could have used a stun gun or baton instead.

“The officers used their batons and chemical sprays in their attempts to physically subdue Hirschfield, but they had little effect on him,” Dumanis said.

His family and media reports also alleged Hirschfield was the victim of gay bias and that there was a police cover up. As a result of these assertions, the San Diego Police Department and the District Attorney’s office looked into these allegations.

“The radio transmissions between the ship and the responding Harbor Police officers make no mention of who was on the ship, merely that there was a man overboard,” Dumanis told the Gay & Lesbian Times, noting there was no evidence that indicated any aspect of the incident made mention of or reference to sexual orientation or that there was a “police cover up.”

“In fact, evidence from witnesses, radio transmission and an interview of Mr. Hirschfield’s girlfriend suggests no one knew of the nature of the party on the ship that night nor of the passengers’ sexual orientation,” Dumanis said.

Original reports also stated that there was a witness who jumped into the water to save Hirschfield and was on the Harbor Police boat and observed the shooting.

According to Dumanis, San Diego Police detectives spent considerable time tracking down this witness.

“When interviewed by the police, he admitted he had made up the entire story to look good to his friends. He was not an ex-Marine, did not jump into the water, was not on the Harbor Police boat at the time of the shooting, nor had he observed the events of the evening,” Dumanis said.

Hirschfield’s family also disputed Hirschfield’s use of drugs. Meanwhile a toxicological examination of Hirschfield’s blood revealed the presence of amphetamines, methamphetamine, Ketamine, Norketamine and Doxylamine – an antihistamine ingredient in Nyquil – in his system.

Additionally, a sample of Hirschfield’s urine submitted to the University of Virginia’s Clinical Pathology Laboratory for analysis tested positive for the presence of two anabolic steroids, Nandrolen Metabolite and Stanozolol.

“Though no one can know for sure what effects the various drugs had on Mr. Hirschfield alone or in poly-drug format, it is widely known that steroids can induce aggressive and psychotic episodes, while Ketamine, an animal tranquilizer and club drug, can also cause delirium and amnesia,” Dumanis said, noting this was consistent with the behavior observed by the witnesses as well as officers.

According to court records, Hirschfield was arrested in Huntington Beach in 2004 for possession of a controlled substance – Ketamine. As a result, he was convicted and agreed to an 18-month drug rehabilitation program. However in November 2006, he was arrested in Beverly Hills for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

The arresting officer noted Hirschfield was “somewhat combative during the initial contact.”

Hirschfield later admitted to being under the influence of Xanax, Vicodin and steroids and plead guilty to reckless driving.

Hirschfield was still on probation at the time of the shooting.