Suspect arrested on suspicion of assaulting deputy, Good Samaritans thanked

Deputies respond to arrest at the mall Monday. Signal photo, Tammy Murga.
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By Tammy Murga & Jim Holt

Signal Staff Writers

In the aftermath of a mid-afternoon scuffle with deputies Monday near the mall, the man accused of resisting arrest has been released from the hospital and the civilians who came to the aid of deputies were thanked.

Cameron David Watson, 22, of Los Angeles, was arrested at 4 p.m. Monday on suspicion of assaulting a peace officer with a deadly weapon and on suspicion of assault causing bodily harm.

Suspect placed in ambulance and taken to the hospital. Signal photo, Maureen Daniels

His arrest followed an alleged fight with deputies of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station on the south side of the Westfield Valencia Town Center mall next to Valencia Boulevard, near the Wokcano restaurant.

Watson was injured in the alleged altercation and taken by paramedics of the Los Angeles County Fire Department to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital.

When asked Tuesday about Watson’s medical condition, hospital spokesman Patrick Moody said:  “He’s been discharged.”

A report of the incident is being compiled by the deputies involved, the details of which were expected to be made public once the report is complete, said Shirley Miller, spokeswoman for the SCV Sheriff’s Station.

“The report has not been processed yet,” she said Tuesday. “It should be turned in by this evening.”

Deputies wasted no time, however, thanking people who saw the scuffle and who then checked on the well-being of the deputies.

Witnesses

One of the people thanked directly by deputies Monday following the altercation was Michael Nadas, who was driving along Valencia Boulevard with this mother, Anne, when he spotted the skirmish.

“My mom and I approached the intersection right in front of the Westfield Valencia Town Center mall and we saw an empty cop car right on the corner, which was obviously not good,” he said.

“As we got just past it, we saw one officer on his back who looked to be overpowered by a much larger… man in the middle, on top of him,” he said. “And we saw another officer (on top of the man) on his radio trying to help overpower this one guy.”

“My first instinct, was, ‘Oh my God, these cops are being overtaken by one man,’ and that’s pretty scary,” Nadas said.

Compelled to stop

Nadas said he felt compelled to stop, so he pulled over and got out.

“I thought, ‘I have got to pull over and help these cops. What I could do — I don’t know. But, as I stopped right in front of the mall, just a few yards past, I saw this white pickup truck stop behind me, put his four-ways on and jump out.”

“So I thought, ‘OK, s—. Thank God, this bigger guy is getting out to help these cops,’” Nadas said. “But, I thought, still — that’s scary.”

“My thought was, ‘He’s going to grab his gun and use it on the cops’ and that scares the crap out of me.”

As Nadas retold the story, his mother cut him off to praise her son, saying: “I’m just glad my son got out right away.”

When it was over, deputies immediately thanked those who cared enough to stop and inquire.

“The one (deputy) who was on his back, came up to me and thanked me for coming over to make sure they were OK,” Nadas said. “So, yeah, that means a lot.”

“In literally one minute there were, like, eight police on the scene,” Nadas said. “It went from two officers being overtaken, one minute later there’s eight officers on the scene.”

“That’s a blessing,” he said, noting deputies took down his name and address.

Take-down

When the alleged altercation was unfolding, deputies in more than a half-dozen sheriff’s vehicles converged on the southwest corner of Valencia Boulevard and McBean Parkway.

“The good news is no deputy was hurt,” Miller said Monday. “There was an incident involving a man near Wokcano (restaurant).”

“Deputies had to perform a take-down,” she said, adding she had no details on what type of force was used in the take-down.

Details of the type of force used in the skirmish were expected to be included in the report prepared by deputies.

[email protected]

661-287-5527

On Twitter: @jamesarthurholt

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