A deputy responding to an attempted suicide call in Hemet used his taser to stop a man from stabbing himself in the chest, but the man died later at a hospital, according to the Sheriff's Department.
Multiple deputies responded to the call for help at 6:26 a.m. Dec. 5 in the 27600 block of Vista Del Valle, south of Hemet High School, sheriff's Deputy Albert Martinez said in a statement.
"The caller stated that an adult male subject had stabbed himself in the chest and was bleeding profusely," Martinez said.
Deputies arrived within minutes and found a male subject "who appeared to be in an agitated state and was stabbing himself in the chest with a knife," Martinez said.
"Deputies ordered the subject several times to stop stabbing himself, but he refused," Martinez said. "In an attempt to stop the subject from stabbing himself, a deputy deployed his department issued conducted electrical weapon (taser) and was able to stop the subject's actions."
The deputies began rendering first aid on the man, and Cal-Fire and American Medical Response were summoned to the scene, Martinez said.
The man was transported to a local hospital to receive medical attention but he was later pronounced deceased, Martinez said. No officers were seriously injured.
The deceased man's identity was withheld pending family notification. An autopsy to determine the cause of his death had not been scheduled as of Friday morning, Martinez told Patch in a phone interview.
Anyone with more info about was urged to call Investigator Wortman of the sheriff's Central Homicide Unit at (760) 393-3500, or Investigator Burden of the sheriff's Hemet Station at (951) 791-3419.
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