Menifee teen arrested after group attacks sheriff’s cruiser during Highland Street occupation – San Bernardino Sun

A San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department patrol car was damaged when a group of people attacked it following a street takeover in Highland on Saturday, May 11. (Courtesy of SBSD)

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s officials arrested a 15-year-old from Menifee for allegedly grabbing the door of a sheriff’s patrol car and smashing its windshield with a cellphone following a street takeover in Highland earlier this month.

The teenager was part of a group of young people who surrounded the sheriff’s patrol car at the intersection of Victoria Avenue and Highland Avenue on Saturday, May 11, after motorists took over the nearby intersection and opened a fire hydrant to make the road slick, making it easier for them to perform stunts, sheriff’s officials said in a statement.

The confrontation between the group and the officer, captured on cellphone video, shows about a dozen bystanders to the takeover spotting the patrol car and approaching it.

When someone in the crowd shouted for people to jump on the vehicle, several people jumped on the hood. Others kicked the doors or banged on the windshield.

Officials with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said the teenager they later arrested was part of that group.

A spokeswoman for the agency said investigators determined the teenager was holding a cellphone at the time. They accused the teenager of hitting the windshield with the phone, causing a large crack.

Videos and photos released by the agency show that other people kicking the patrol car left large dents in the door.

Officials said the video also shows the arrested teen, who is wearing a hoodie, reaching for the handle of the patrol car’s driver’s side door. The door opens for about three seconds before closing again. Then the officer drives off.

The department said the teen accused of ripping open the door was identified through video obtained by investigators. Officers obtained a search warrant for his Menifee home on Thursday, May 23, and arrested him.

In a statement, officials said the teenager was booked into the San Bernardino County Juvenile Detention Center on suspicion of attempted car theft and vandalism.

The department accused the teenager of “attempting to overtake the deputy sheriff and his patrol unit.”

But the video of the incident released by officials shows that it is not clear who opened the door.

The video shows a member of the group, wearing a gray hoodie, placing his hand on the back of another person, then pushing them forward, helping them jump up and kick the patrol car window.

After removing his hand from the other person’s back, the person in the gray sweatshirt appears to reach for the handle of the patrol car’s driver’s door, but is quickly obscured as others crowd the patrol car.

When the door becomes visible again, the video shows that it has been opened. However, by this point in the video, the person reaching for the door has already backed away.

The police department said in a statement that the officer in the patrol car closed the door. However, the video shows another person in the crowd putting their hand on the door and apparently pushing it shut. It is unknown if the officer pushed it shut at the same time.

The identity of the arrested teenager has not yet been determined by the Sheriff’s Department and it is unclear whether he is charged with a crime.

A spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office said that juvenile criminal records are confidential. Under that policy, she declined to say whether prosecutors were seeking criminal proceedings against the boy.

It was not clear whether the child had been assigned a lawyer or whether he was still in custody.