Steven Paul Hirschfield
Shot And Killed By Police After Overboard
July 19, 2008
Steven Paul Hirschfield
Event Date: July 19, 2008
Bruise: Death
Bruise Location: San Diego, California
Age: 37
Home Town: Los Angeles
Cruise Line: Hornblower Cruises
Ship: Inspiration
Details:
In what appears as some psychotic reaction to drugs, a cruise ship entertainer who had been performing on a gay and lesbian party cruise, with about 1200 passengers aboard, jumped overboard and refused any assistance.
Steven Paul Hirschfield was aboard the cruise ship as a performer for the party cruise, part of the San Diego Gay Pride Festival, when he suddenly jumped overboard from the third deck around 23:10 hours on Saturday night.
The Hornblower Inspiration crew called the San Diego Harbor Police to report a man overboard incident. At that time a small rescue boat was launched and the crew threw floating devices to assist the man. But, they say Hirschfield refused all efforts to assist him. The crew stayed nearby untill the harbor police arrived.
When the harbor police arrived on the scene, they found HIrschfield in an agitated state floating in about 40-foot-deep water. He was pulled aboard the harbor police vessel and began fighting the two officers trying to assist him, knocking one officer to the deck of the vessel, according to the report.
Officers say he grabbed the taser of the officer on the ground during the struggle, and began beating the officer in the face with it. The officer, injured, was fighting for his life.
During the altercation, Hirschfield is said to have wrestled with that officer to get his gun. That was when the second officer shot Hirschfield in the chest.
The harbor police took cruised to the nearby dock at the Embarcadero, where paramedics met the ship. Hirschfield was dead and the police officer attacked in the incident was take to an area hospital then later released with leg and face injuries.
Inspiration was on a four hour party cruise.
An autopsy is planned for July 21. It will hopefully outline what, if any, drugs may have been in Hirschfield's body, perhaps causing him suddenly become irrational.
Hirschfield was actor known for his role in the Indigo Entertainment, Edward Holzman 2001 horror film, Sexual Magic. He played the role of Charlie in the film.
The film was rated R, and ran for 85 minutes. The movie has been described as a "soft core porn movie" with excessive nudity and no real plot other than to show skin. The movie centers around the notion of five witches making their sexual fantasies come true.
Hirschfield was also in the Greydon Clark 1980 film, The Return. The film featured Cybill Shepherd, Jan-Michael Vincent, Raymond Burr, and Martin Landau in top roles. Hirschfield played a child in this alien encounter film.
