Transients Attack Cop

“I was taking a little siesta,” said a man lying on the grass in Balboa Park, observing an unfolding crime scene on September 25. Just down the hill, a section of north Balboa Park had been cordoned off with yellow tape. “Next thing I know, there’s 50,000 cops cruising through.”

The man, who asked to remain anonymous, said he “saw nothing.” He did, however, “see one cop on a stretcher” whose “head and arm were bandaged.” Earlier, he had seen helicopters overhead and heard they were looking for a Hispanic male. He also recalled seeing “four Hispanic males sitting at a picnic table -- one was taken into the car.”

SDPD police LT. Dawn Summers told reporters that, around 12:45, an officer patrolling the northern end of the park “approached five to six transients” and was attacked. The officer “had problems with his portable radio,” she said, but managed to call for help.

“Two more transients jumped in to help the first suspect,’” she said. One man was being held in a patrol car, and one or two suspects were being sought by police, she added. “At this time,” she said, the other men are only “witnesses.” The man in custody had not yet been charged either -- but was likely to be charged with “felony battery on a police officer.”

The injured officer was taken to Scripps Mercy Hospital, where he was being treated for an arm injury.