SANTA MARIA - The wife of a Santa Maria man shot and killed by Santa Maria Police after a bloody domestic dispute and knife-wielding rampage last week is speaking out.
She tells Central Coast News she can't understand why police had to fire five shots at Robert Guzman and she wonders why officers didn't use their tasers to subdue him.
Santa Maria Police Chief Ralph Martin has said his officers tried to use non-lethal "stun bags" or bean bags fired from a shotgun but Martin said they did not stop Guzman from threatening officers with a knife.
The 911 calls for help as Guzman was on his rampage were recorded by Santa Maria Police dispatchers.
Police have said after Guzman stabbed his wife in their home on East Sunset Street, he followed her across the street and broke through a front window to get at his wife who was seeking help inside a neighbor's home.
Central Coast News has obtained a copy of a 911 call in which a woman can be heard screaming into the phone as Santa Maria Police officers arrive and confront Guzman.
What appears to be gunshots can be heard on the 911 recording as the woman is screaming.
Robert Guzman was pronounced dead at the scene.
His wife, who declined to speak to Central Coast News on camera on advice from an attorney, is still recovering from her stab wound to the chest and other injuries.
The SMPD shooting of Robert Guzman is being investigated by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department.
