SAN DIEGO – An Aug. 27 preliminary hearing was set for a man who was shot by police after he allegedly brought an ax inside the library in Pacific Beach and chopped up books and chairs while upsetting patrons.
William John Hanley, 54, appeared on May 29 before San Diego Superior Court Judge Timothy Weathers after leaving the hospital following the May 8 incident in which he was shot and wounded by a San Diego Police Department officer. He had been in critical condition.
Hanley pleaded not guilty to all five charges from his hospital bed earlier. He remains in the central jail on $500,000 bail.
Hanley is charged with assault on a police officer and two counts of exhibiting an ax in a threatening manner to an officer and a female employee of the Pacific Beach/Taylor Library at 4275 Cass Street.
Cass StreetHe is also charged with felony vandalism of the library as well as resisting an executive officer.
Eyewitnesses to the 4:25 p.m. incident were shocked as he used the ax to damage property and computers in the library. “He was chopping up tables and chairs with an ax,” said a woman interviewed on Fox 5 News.
“It’s shocking. PB is usually so laid back,” a man outside the library told Channel 7/39.
No one was struck by the ax. People said books were damaged with the tool, and he also hacked at computers and their power cords. People moved out of his way as he went on a rampage in the library, but his target seemed to be property, not people.
The Sheriff’s Department handled the investigation because the shooting of the suspect was by San Diego Police, per the Countywide Memo of Understanding. Other law enforcement agencies investigate cases in which shootings occur first by another agency.
The weapon was recovered on a sidewalk after the shooting. Police said Hanley was shot several times after he refused to comply when he was asked to drop the ax.
This library branch opened in 1997 and is named after Earl and Birdie Taylor following a generous donation from the Taylor family, library supporters, and early real estate developers in Pacific Beach, according to its website.
It is within walking distance of the beach. It was designed by architect Manuel Oncina. A grand piano is inside. It has a large meeting room and a projection screen.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s office will monitor the criminal investigation, the sheriff’s department said. The District Attorney’s office will conduct an investigation to see if the officers’ discharge of their firearms was proper.
The Sheriff’s Department said if anyone has additional information, people can call the homicide department at (858) 285-6330. People can remain anonymous by calling San Diego Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
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