Santa Monica police arrested a 39-year-old Los Angeles man who randomly attacked a man along the Third Street Promenade on Wednesday, April 30.
Officers of the Santa Monica Police Department responded to the Promenade at 2:10 pm on this day in order to investigate an assault in progress.
Upon arrival the officers spoke with the male victim who stated that he had been walking along the Promenade with his girlfriend, and as they crossed Arizona Avenue, they had seen a man standing on the corner talking to himself.
As he continued to walk the victim said that he had suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back as the man who had been talking to himself spontaneously kicked the victim in the back.
The victim added that this man then yelled obscenities at him and his girlfriend while this man adopted a fighting stance.
The victim had responded by forcing the assailant down to the ground but had let go after he had seen a Santa Monica police officer.
The victim flagged the officers down.
As the victim was speaking to the officer, the suspect attempted to walk away northbound on the Promenade and then westbound on Arizona Avenue.
The officer was easily able to catch up to the suspect and took him into custody without incident.
A search through the police computer showed the suspect was on probation for elder abuse.
This L.A. resident was then booked at the Santa Monica jail for assault and battery, as well as a probation violation. Bail was set at $20,000.
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.
