Crime & Safety

Teen Girl Strikes Police Officer With Baton

Officer receives minor injuries; teen is booked into juvenile hall.

A teenage girl struck a police officer with his own baton after he tried to handcuff her and then threatened to strike him in the head, the police department reported Tuesday.

The teen will be charged with assault with a deadly weapon for the incident that took place Monday evening on View Street, according to Mountain View Police Department spokeswoman Liz Wylie.

Staff members at Quetzal House—a shelter for runaway girls in Mountain View—called the MVPD to report a fight between two girls. One of the girls eventually ran away.

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While the officer tried to interview center staff, explained Wylie, one of the girls allegedly involved in the fight grew upset and began to impede the officer's investigation. The officer tried to keep her in one room while he interviewed staff in another, but "she refused to obey his commands," said Wylie.

Wylie said the suspect became angrier and more verbally abusive and aggressive. The officer then attempted to put her into handcuffs in order to gain control of her, but she resisted.

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The suspect, a 16-year-old who is 5-foot-2 and 250 pounds, struggled with the officer, and he eventually forced her onto the ground, where she continued to struggle and resist.

At some point during the struggle, the suspect allegedly removed the officer's baton from his belt and began to strike him with it at a close range. He received jabs to the chest and ribs, and tried to get the baton out of her hands but was unsuccessful.

According to Wylie, the teen then raised the baton above her head as if she planned to strike the officer's head. The officer, said Wylie, fearing a potentially lethal blow to his head, punched the suspect in the face. She dropped the baton and was taken into custody without further incident.

The officer suffered a cut and abrasion on his hand. The teen suffered a broken nose and was treated at the hospital before being booked into Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall on charges of assault with a deadly weapon.

"We are additionally asking the District Attorney's office to add a charge of assault on a police officer and a charge of removing a weapon from an officer," said Wylie. "A staff member did witness the whole thing, and she has been interviewed."

The other girl returned to Quetzal House on her own and is no longer considered a runaway.


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