An attorney hired by the parents of the male dancer who was shot to death by San Diego Harbor Police last weekend said Thursday the version of events police are telling is a “complete fabrication.”

Steven P. Hirschfield

Steven Paul Hirschfield jumped off a chartered cruise ship into San Diego Bay about 11 p.m. Saturday and was shot nearly 30 minutes later during an encounter with Harbor Police in a rescue boat.

Police said Hirschfield fought with an officer in the boat and when he tried to grab the officer's gun, he was shot by a second officer on the boat.

“The officer who shot him had a Taser – why didn't he use it?” said Los Angeles attorney Brian Claypool. “And if he was in a brawl, why isn't there more evidence of that? There was very little scratching or bruising on his body.”

Claypool said a second man, a retired U.S. Marine from San Diego, also was on the police boat, a fact he says police have tried to hide. Claypool said the retired Marine jumped off the cruise ship to try and save Hirschfield.

John Gilmore, a spokesman for the Port of San Diego, said “we are standing by the account of the Harbor Police, but it's a preliminary report.”

Hirschfield, 37, of West Hollywood died of a gunshot wound to the chest, an autopsy showed. His parents, Alan and Nicole Hirschfield from suburban Detroit, and Claypool are expected to be in San Diego Saturday for a news conference. A lawsuit has not been filed.

San Diego police are investigating the shooting. The two officers – Clyde Williams, who fired his handgun, and Wayne Schmidt – have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the results of the probe.

Hirschfield had been performing aboard the Inspiration, a 222-foot yacht chartered for a mostly male party that drew about 800 patrons celebrating San Diego's gay pride festival.

“The way the officers handled the situation is consistent with individuals who have a bias or prejudice against gay people,” Claypool said.

Gilmore, the port spokesman, said he did not have a response to that allegation.

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