On the evening of June 29, 2012, Century Station deputies responded to the 10000 block of State Street in Lynwood regarding a domestic violence incident. Upon arrival, the deputies found a female victim bleeding from her face, who stated the father of her child tried to kill her and that he was still in the home. Upon locating the suspect, he armed himself with a butcher knife and confronted the deputies. Fearing the suspect was going to hurt himself or others, deputies shot the suspect once with a stun bag shotgun. After the suspect was struck by the stun bag, he immediately dropped the knife and was handcuffed without further incident. The suspect was charged with spousal assault, assault with a deadly weapon, and assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer.
The stun bag shotguns function exactly like a standard shotgun; however, they are loaded with an approximately two inch canvas pouch filled with tiny lead pellets. The impact from the stun bag is similar to being hit by a ball from a major league baseball pitcher.
Domestic violence calls have the potential to become some of the most violent encounters any peace officer can respond to. Thanks to the availability of a stun bag shotgun, the deputies did not have to resort to lethal force. The actions of deputy personnel in this incident exemplified the Core Values of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, specifically “reverence for human life.”
