Officers Commended for Restrained Use of Force

Three sheriff’s deputies who disarmed a knife-wielding woman rather than using lethal force Thursday were nominated a few hours later for an award, according to authorities.

Deputies Wayne Waterman, Bradley Thompson and David Furedi were nominated for the “Commendable Restraint” award, said Capt. Donald Rodriguez, the commanding officer of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Santa Clarita station.

The award recognizes deputies who “elect to use less-than-lethal methods even though confronted with a potentially deadly situation,” Rodriguez said.

The incident occurred at about 1:25 p.m. at a residence in the 19400 block of Cedarcreek Street in Canyon Country.

Waterman, Thompson and Furedi responded to a call about a family disturbance.

When they got to the residence, a 24-year-old woman--described by deputies as mentally unstable--threatened them with a butcher knife and held them at bay, Rodriguez said. At one point the woman yelled “Shoot me! Shoot me!”

The deputies waited and then used pepper spray on the woman, taking away her knife, authorities said.

The woman--whose name was not released--also attempted to harm herself, deputies said. She was taken to Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar for a psychiatric evaluation.

After the incident, a sergeant reviewed the deputies’ actions and nominated them for the award, which is given out by supervisors at the stations where they work.