Officer Pistol-Whipped In Attack At LAPD Harbor Station, Suspect Held On $2.2M Bail
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- Security video obtained by the Los Angeles Times shows the moment an LAPD officer was attacked on Saturday night at the Harbor Community Police Station.
A desk officer was speaking to the suspect in the lobby of the station and things quickly escalated before turning violent.
The police officer fell to the ground and the suspect was able to grab hold of his gun, and then proceeded to repeatedly hit the officer in the head with it.
A struggle over the gun followed, and the suspect ended up with the gun again and pointed it to the officer before taking off.
The watch commander at the station came out to help moments later, and then the suspect starting shooting, prompting the officer to return fire.
Investigators say no one was hit during the exchange of gunfire.
29-year-old Jose Cerpa Guzman was identified as the suspect and arrested after a short pursuit through San Pedro. He is currently being held on $2,230,000 bail.
According to police, the officer's gun was recovered in Guzman's truck.
The officer was taken to UCLA Medical Center for injuries that LAPD Chief Michel Moore said were consistent with being "pistol-whipped."
While his name was not released, CBS2 is told the officer has more than three decades in law enforcement and is expected to recover.
It is unclear how the suspect got inside the Harbor station due to current coronavirus restrictions, but Chief Moore said the door may have been left cracked open.