Pasadena : Officer Kills Transient

An off-duty Pasadena police officer shot and killed a 30-year-old transient after the woman allegedly lunged at him with a pair of scissors in a park near City Hall, sheriff’s deputies said this week.

The woman, identified as Denise Hatcher, was pronounced dead at Huntington Memorial Hospital shortly after the Sunday afternoon incident, Deputy Mary Landreth said.

The officer, Louie Armenta, 24, had been sitting in his own car at Memorial Park when the woman allegedly smashed his window and began puncturing holes in the hood with a pair of eight-inch scissors, Landreth said.

Armenta identified himself and attempted to calm her down, but the woman, who had a history of mental illness, lunged at him with the scissors, deputies said.