The incident occurred here
Santa Barbara – This reporter has been waiting for years to write the above headline; the waiting is now over.
According to Santa Barbara Police Department Public Information Officer Sgt. Riley Harwood, this journalistic gift comes pursuant to the arrest of Goleta resident Jorge Rodriguez, who showed up on Friday night, October 16 at a wedding reception being held at Santa Barbara’s downtown Carriage Museum. Sadly, Rodriguez was not on the list of invited guests, and when he refused requests to exit the premises, was summarily “picked up and removed” from the property.
As that occurred, things became a bit less festive as Rodriguez “kicked and threatened” those who were showing him the way out. Once outside the party, he “continued to act erratically” until the arrival of SBPD patrol officers who made an attempt to detain him. At that point, Rodriguez summarily punched one of the uniformed officers in the face, knocking him to the ground and jumping on him. A second officer “intervened and a melee ensues,” according to Harwood, in which “Rodriguez bit the first officer” and was apparently undaunted by the arrival of a K-9 police dog on the scene. With the dog biting him and holding him by the shoulder, Rodriguez turned the tables on the canine, wrenching its leg and biting the animal in return.
“Rodriguez was able to break away” from the canine, and in the chaos, the dog bit the officer still on the ground following the punch to his face. Perhaps the flavor of law enforcement flesh caused the dog to release its ferocious hold on the cop and return his attention to the undoubtedly tastier suspect Rodriguez. Moments later, Rodriguez was subdued by the dog and his two handlers just as backup details arrived on the scene to take the suspect into custody.
Both of the responding officers were transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for treatment to their multiple injuries, while Rodriguez was sedated by ambulance paramedics for transport to the same medical facility. Harwood’s report indicated that when he’s ultimately released from the hospital, Rodriguez—already on probation for battery at the time of this incident—will be facing “multiple felony charges, including resisting arrest resulting in injury and battery on a police dog.” He was booked on Tuesday, October 20.
Photo: Courtesy www.drawception.com
