Man Tased three times, arrested in Capitola after police stop

 Posted on April 13, 2012 in Dealing with the Police

Capitola Police say that officers spotted a man walking near Soquel and Wharf roads around 3:00 early Wednesday morning. Officers assert that they believed the 45-year-old man matched the description of a suspect in an unidentified incident sometime earlier in Aptos. Law enforcement apparently sought to detain the man to look into the Aptos incident, and now the man is accused of a string of offenses for his conduct in dealing with the police.

Authorities claim that the man fled from police during the alleged attempted encounter. Capitola officers say that the man initially was aggressive toward officers before he took off running. Authorities accuse the man of a series of acts that have landed him in jail on suspicion of resisting arrest, vandalism, assault with a deadly weapon and trespassing.

After initially fleeing, the man ran to a condominium complex, according to police. Officers say that they located the man, but he refused to be arrested. Officers say the man hit a squad car with a metal rod before police zapped him with a Taser. After the stun gun allegedly failed to have the effect police had hoped for, authorities accuse the man of grabbing a tree branch and swinging at officers.

One officer reportedly was hit in the head with the branch and was treated for an injury at a local hospital. Officers used a stun gun a second time, according to police reports. The second Taser blast reportedly subdued the man, but he continued struggling with law enforcement as they tried to handcuff the man, according to law enforcement.

The man is accused of fleeing a second time inside the complex, but ran through a sliding glass door, according to authorities. Police say that the man used a ladder to try to attack officers before taking a third blast from a stun gun. At that point, Capitola Police say the man was cuffed and taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries the man sustained in the involvement with police.

He was later booked into jail on serious criminal charges.

Generally, our laws provide criminal defendants with a variety of rights against unreasonable governmental intrusion. However, laws also prohibit people from acting out toward police. Santa Cruz criminal defense lawyers know that many people misunderstand their rights in dealing with the police.

Most, if not all, people who work in the criminal justice system recognize the importance of being polite during an encounter with the police. However, being polite does not necessarily mean that it is necessary to answer police questions about any alleged offense.

The right to remain silent is an important Constitutional right that many are aware of, but fewer understand how speaking with police during an encounter, or at any stage of an investigation, can adversely influence their criminal defense.

It is polite during a police encounter to politely decline to answer questions about an alleged offense without becoming rude. However, advancing beyond rude and acting out during a police encounter can generally lead to additional charges, such as resisting, or worse.

Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel, "Man arrested after evading, attacking Capitola police; officers use Taser three times on suspect," Jessica M. Pasko, April 11, 2012