Redwood City police officers injured during arrest as crowd springs into action

(Photo: Redwood City Police Department)

(BCN) – Two Redwood City police officers were injured while arresting a suspect after a crowd intervened and deputies had to come to their aid, police said Saturday.

Officers were dispatched to the Sequoia Station shopping center at 1071 El Camino Real around 8:30 p.m. Friday, where a panhandler was causing a disturbance, police said.

The panhandler saw the officers and entered Safeway before they could reach him. Moments later, he left the store with two glass bottles of alcohol in his hand.

When one of the officers tried to question the beggar, one of the bottles hit him in the face, police said. Attempts by the officers to overpower the man with their tasers were unsuccessful, police said.

“A large crowd gathered and became hostile toward officers,” police said in a press release. “San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office officers assisted in separating the crowd from arresting officers and provided security at the scene.”

When 31-year-old Aaron Martinez of Redwood City was finally arrested, he was charged with theft, assault with a deadly weapon, assault on an officer and resisting law enforcement.

One officer suffered a broken ankle and another suffered a cut to the head that required stitches. Both were treated at a local hospital and released, police said.

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