A report of a California Highway Patrol officer fighting with an alleged suspect ended with an arrest Friday afternoon.
At 2:41 p.m. a 9-1-1 caller at a gas station near the corner of The Old Road and Lake Hughes Road reported that they saw a man in a gray Mitsubishi parked at the gas pumps. The caller said the driver appeared to be intoxicated.
“We responded and made contact with the solo, male occupant, observed the party acting very, very nervous, fidgety and displaying symptoms of narcotic intoxication,” said Officer Josh Greengard, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol office. “We began to ask him for his identity. He refused to give us his identity.”
The officers on the scene, Greengard said, asked him to then step out of the vehicle and back up to the deputies. However, the suspect reportedly continued to refuse for some time.
“He still continued to be uncooperative,” said Greengard. “The officers on scene grabbed the man by his arm and that’s when the suspect began resisting and being very combative.”
While attempting to detain the suspect, an officer noticed what appeared to be a handgun in the suspect’s waistband. Upon further inspection, the handgun was revealed to be an Airsoft gun.
“Moments later, using control holds, we were able to arrest the individual,” said Greengard.
The suspect, identified as a resident from Orange County, reportedly had a $50,000 warrant as well.
He was transported and booked at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station on suspicion of resisting arrest and open warrants.
Officers will need to await a handful of weeks for a returned blood test to see if the suspect was under the influence of narcotics, Greengard said.
