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Santa Barbara police officer seriously injured making arrest

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – A Santa Barbara police officer was hospitalized following a violent arrest early Wednesday morning.

It happened around 1:30 a.m. on the 200 block of West Carrillo Street. Officers responded to the area for a fight and a report of a man armed with a knife.

When they arrived on scene, officers confronted a 29-year-old Lompoc man who police said was highly agitated and threatening to fight police. According to the Santa Barbara Police Department, the man was bleeding profusely from a hand injury and refused to comply with verbal commands made by the responding officers.

The man was physically restrained to take him into custody but officers struggled to get him inside a police cruiser. According to SBPD, the man pushed an officer, causing them to fall and hit their head on the quarter panel of the squad car. The man then began kicking the downed officer in the face, police said.

The suspect was eventually subdued and given sedatives so he could be transported to the hospital for treatment of his hand injury. He was treated at the hospital for his injury and then transported to the Santa Barbara County Jail.

The officer, who lost consciousness during the arrest, was also transported to the hospital for an injury to the face, head trauma and a possible concussion. That officer has since been released from the hospital and will be placed on medical leave for an undetermined amount of time, police said.

The man arrested faces possible charges for resisting arrest and battering a police officer. His bail has been set at $50,000.

Article Topic Follows: Crime & Courts

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Travis Schlepp

Travis Schlepp is the Digital Content Director for News Channel 3-12. To learn more about Travis, click here.

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