NurseWeek

Knife-wielding man shot, killed by police

By Cathryn Domrose
October 9, 2000


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Ventura, Calif. An allegedly mentally ill man was shot and killed by police after stabbing three workers Sept. 30 at Community Memorial Hospital.

Jonathan Wesley Baker, 48, entered the hospital waiting room at about 10:30 p.m., said Lt. Carl Handy, a spokesman for the Ventura Police Department. When an unarmed security guard asked if he needed help, Baker hit the guard and stabbed him in the neck with a knife, Handy said. Baker then stabbed a second security guard in the stomach and a hospital floor worker in the forehead. The employees took cover in a secured emergency room area, Handy said. They were treated and released.

When police arrived, they tried to subdue Baker with sandbags and rubber projectiles. Baker continued to try to stab them, Handy said, and as he came at them, an officer shot him. He died about two hours later.

At no time were hospital patients or staff in the secured emergency room area in danger, Handy said. Two women who had been in the waiting room hid in a rest room while police confronted Baker, he said.

According to press reports, Baker, who was living in a hotel in Ojai, had a history of mental illness and had not taken his medication on the day of the shooting.

A police internal investigation found the shooting was justified and the officers involved returned to duty a few days later, Handy said.

The hospital does not plan to change its security policies or arm guards, said Rhonda Spiegel, RN, assistant executive director at Community Memorial. "To the best of my knowledge, this [type of incident] is pretty rare," she said.