A downtown enforcement officer responded quickly in Santa Rosa.
According to Santa Rosa Police, a downtown enforcement officer responded quickly to an incident in Santa Rosa.
Dispatchers received two separate 911 calls describing an escalating confrontation. The first caller said a man had repeatedly approached a woman and tried to grab her belongings. A second caller reported something more alarming: that the man had physically grabbed the woman and was preventing her from leaving, the police account states.
Officer Intervenes as Struggle Continues
When officers arrived at the scene roughly two blocks from Railroad Square, they found a physical altercation already underway between the suspect and the woman. The downtown enforcement officer verbally ordered the man to stop, and when he did not comply, took him to the ground, police said.
Even after being tackled, the suspect kept gripping the victim's belt from behind, according to the police account. Officers had to pry him loose to free the woman from his grasp. Perez then resisted their efforts to detain him and allegedly tried to stand up as officers attempted to assess him for injuries, requiring additional personnel to arrive before he could be brought fully under control and handcuffed.
Victim Assessed, Suspect Booked on Three Counts
The woman, described by police as an adult in her 30s, was assessed for injuries at the scene but did not require immediate medical attention. Perez, identified by police as a 31-year-old unsheltered man who had recently arrived in Santa Rosa, was arrested and booked on suspicion of sexual battery under Penal Code section 243.4(a), false imprisonment under section 236, and resisting, delaying or obstructing a peace officer under section 148(a)(1). Under California law, false imprisonment is defined by the California Legislative Information as the unlawful violation of another person's personal liberty.
Police said downtown enforcement officers like the one who responded Friday patrol both downtown Santa Rosa and Railroad Square on foot, working to build relationships with local businesses, residents and community members while addressing ongoing quality-of-life concerns in the area.
Earlier Reports of Downtown Violence
Separate reporting from KRON4 found that groups of young teenaged gang members preyed on victims around downtown Santa Rosa over a two-month stretch through a series of robberies and assaults, with much of the activity centered around the Downtown Santa Rosa Transit Mall and Santa Rosa Plaza.
Those earlier incidents included a case in which a 17-year-old was surrounded and assaulted by roughly 10 people at Santa Rosa Plaza, with suspects grabbing, pushing, punching and knocking him to the ground before stealing his shoes. Another case saw five boys approach a 27-year-old man and his mother near Julliard Park, resulting in the arrest of a 15-year-old on suspicion of assault and gang participation. A third incident, a food-court attack at Santa Rosa Plaza, led to the arrests of three boys ages 13, 14 and 15, who were booked into juvenile hall on suspicion of robbery, assault and gang participation.
