A 37-year-old man was arrested Thursday, March 21 after a beachgoer spotted him masturbating while sitting on one of the lifeguard towers.
At 5:56 pm officers of the Santa Monica Police Department responded to the Lifeguard Tower Number 12, located in the 1200 block of the Santa Monica Beach, in order to apprehend the man who was reported to be masturbating there.
When the officers arrived they spoke with the witness who had summoned the help of police.
She told the officers she had visited the beach that day with some friends in order to take some pictures when they came upon the man.
She said the man had been sitting on the lifeguard tower with his penis exposed, and was masturbating.
The suspect then arose and walked over to the restrooms and entered the female stalls.
The reporting party then called the police.
As she was making the call, she saw two girls enter the restroom and after a few seconds make a hasty exit after they had seen the suspect inside.
The girls did not remain at the scene, and also did not report the incident.
The officers then approached the suspect and he was placed under a private person’s arrest.
The officers then searched this man and discovered that he was in possession of a pipe that was of the kind typically used to smoke methamphetamine.
This homeless man was arrested and charged with indecent exposure and possession of drug paraphernalia. Bail was set at $10,000.
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.
