Santa Barbara County – Arturo Gutierrez, a 52-year old Lompoc resident, was under a court retraining order prohibiting him from making any contact with his wife, so when he showed up at her home on the evening of April 10th, she did the intelligent thing for anyone under a protective order designed to prevent domestic violence from breaking out: she called the cops.
According to his report to the media, Lompoc Police Chief Pat Walsh indicated that upon arrival on the scene, patrol officers discovered Gutierrez “hiding in the back yard.” When officers attempted to make contact with Gutierrez and remove him from the premises under the terms of the restraining order, Gutierrez lashed out and violently engaged them in hand-to-hand combat. As further noted by Walsh, “he did not want to be arrested.”
While the two officers were attempting to subdue the recalcitrant Gutierrez, his son, Luis Gutierrez, 25, summarily “blindsided one of the officers and punched him in the head several times,” knocking him unconscious. With nearby witnesses recording the events on cellphone video, additional police units arrived on scene and joined what Walsh would later describe as a “melee” in which all officers were “really in a fight.”
As these things go, both father and son were eventually subdued and taken into custody, whereupon they were arrested on charges of resisting arrest, battery with great bodily injury, and battery upon a peace officer. Both were transported to Ventura County Jail on no-bail holds.
Two of the arresting officers were admitted to Lompoc Valley Medical Center for treatment, one suffering from a concussion.
Photos: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
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