On Friday, Dec. 2, at 10:58 a.m. officers of the Santa Monica Police Department went to the 1300 block of Euclid Street after receiving a report of a man who was trespassing inside a boarded-up apartment unit.
When the officers arrived, they spoke with the apartment manager who told them he was checking units when he chanced upon one with its door prized open. The manager looked inside and saw a man lying on the ground. The manager recognized this man as a former tenant, who had recently been evicted from the unit. That’s when the manager summoned the assistance of the police.
The officers approached this man who immediately adopted a fighting stance, and began moving towards one of the officers in a threatening manner, whilst at the same time vociferating threats toward the officers. This man was very large in stature, so the officer pointed his X26 Taser at the man and ordered him to the ground. The man continued to advance towards the officer, so the officer tased him in the upper torso.
The suspect ripped the Taser wires from his chest and began running away, through the building, and then down the alley. The officers gave chase and tackled the man, and, after a brief struggle, took him into custody. It turned out that this 43-year-old ex-tenant; now homeless man was on parole for rape, so he was charged with parole violation, resisting an officer, public intoxication, and trespass. Bail was not awarded.
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.
