Officer hit in face, taunted, police say

Gangs take over after dark, fearful neighbors explain

By Leslie Albrecht
lalbrecht@modbee.com

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The hostile crowd that confronted a lone Modesto police officer and his police dog early Sunday threw glass bottles at the officer, and one suspect punched him in the face, according to details released by police Tuesday.

Witnesses and police say some in the crowd taunted the officer as they closed in on him, shouting, "Shoot me, shoot me!" when he drew his weapon. Someone in the crowd said, "You know you're not going to make it out of here," said Sgt. Brian Findlen, the police spokesman.

Some witnesses said the face-off was "horrifying" and "like something you would see on 'Cops,' " the TV show that showcases confrontations between police and criminals.

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Residents described their neighborhood as "scary," especially after dark. Gang members and regular people live side by side, they said, and neighbors fear retaliation if they call police.

In Sunday's incident, the officer couldn't call for backup during the five to eight minutes he was alone with the crowd because the radio on his belt was broken during the struggle, said Findlen. About a dozen officers responded after 911 calls from neighbors.

The incident happened about 2:15 a.m. in the 1700 block of Pelton Avenue in southwest Modesto.

The officer happened upon the crowd while responding to a report of a stolen car. The officer stopped when he saw a group attacking one man. When he tried to break up the fight, the crowd turned on him, police say. One man challenged the officer to a fight.

When the officer tried to arrest the man, some people pulled the man out of the officer's control, said Findlen. Three suspects were charged with "lynching," a term for removing a suspect from police custody.

A loaded assault rifle magazine was found later near the scene of the assault, said Findlen. During a follow-up investigation, police said, officers found a loaded, banned assault rifle. Callers to 911 earlier that night reported gang members were shooting a rifle into the air.

Six arrests

Six people were arrested in connection with the struggle. Some suspects who contacted The Bee on Tuesday said police treated them unfairly, beating them and arresting them in connection with crimes they didn't commit. Police deny those accusations. Two witnesses said police did not use excessive force on the suspects.

Police say some in the crowd were gang members; three of the suspects told The Bee that they're not involved in gangs.

The officer and his dog were slightly injured, said Findlen. Reports from officers at the scene described the size of the crowd as 20 to 60 people.

Some in the crowd were listening to a police radio scanner, police say. When they heard other units were responding, they ran, Findlen said. One witness said others in the crowd tried to help the officer during the struggle.

Coverage of the incident, posted on the Drudge Report's Web site, struck a nerve, prompting online comments, phone calls and e-mails from across the country to The Bee. Some linked the confrontation to the recent shooting deaths of four Oakland police officers, which exposed a deep divide between police and residents there. Authorities say a parolee shot the Oakland officers. "Where do people get this boldness?" said Patrick Manion of Morro Bay. "I want to go to Modesto and say, 'Who are you?' "

Findlen said he didn't see the attack as evidence of a new level of hostility toward police. "Are we seeing specific incidents or ties between incidents that lead us to believe that violence is shifting more aggressively to police officers?" he asked. "I don't think we have enough information to say something to that effect."