A 45-year-old homeless man was arrested on Friday, Nov. 28 after attacking a paralyzed veteran in his wheelchair for no apparent reason.
Officers of the Santa Monica Police Department were called out at 12:50 pm on this day to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon at the Ocean Park Community Center (OPCC) at 503 Olympic Blvd.
Apparently the victim, a paralyzed veteran, had been sitting in his wheelchair when the suspect approached and attacked.
The suspect allegedly punched the victim in the face, knocked him to the ground, and then picked up a glass bottle and hit the victim over the head with it.
The suspect was stopped from inflicting further injuries to this man after patrons and staff of OPCC intervened and restrained the suspect until police arrived.
The responding officers took statements from witnesses and arrested this suspect and charged him with assault with a deadly weapon. Bail was set at $30,000.
The victim suffered a cut on his left eyelid, and two puncture wounds from broken glass on his right arm.
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.
