A homeless man, who spontaneously starting jumping jacks in the middle of the sidewalk, attempted to slap a woman who asked if she could go past him.
On Thursday, June 2, at 4:47 p.m., officers of the Santa Monica Police Department went to the 1600 block of Santa Monica Boulevard in response to a report of an assault and battery. When they arrived at the scene, the officers spoke with the female victim who told them that she had been walking along the south sidewalk when a man, who had been walking in front of her at the time, stopped and began doing jumping jacks.
The woman asked the man doing these “jumping jacks” if she could pass him, at which point he turned towards her and attempted to slap her in the face. The woman raised her arms in order to protect herself, and the slap made contact with her hands. A witness ran out of a nearby store and confronted the man, who responded by verbally berating the witness.
The “jumping jack man” then started to walk away, but as he was doing so, he turned in a flash, and attempted to spit at the witness. The officers detained the suspect, placed him under arrest and took him off to jail. This 28-year-old homeless man was charged with assault, battery, and a parole violation. He was not eligible for bail.
Editor’s Note: These reports are part of a regular police coverage series entitled “Alert Police Blotter” (APB), which injects some minor editorial into certain police activities in Santa Monica. Not all of the Mirror’s coverage of incidents involving police are portrayed in this manner. More serious crimes and police-related activities are regularly reported without editorial in the pages of the Santa Monica Mirror and its website, smmirror.com
