Cop confronts drinking beachgoer, gets attacked by crowd, Calif. police say
A brawl broke out on Wednesday night at a beach in Southern California, sending one police officer to the hospital, according to authorities.
Huntington Beach police officers confronted a woman drinking alcohol near a lifeguard tower in the coastal Orange County city around 8:40 p.m., according to a police Facebook post. That’s when a handful of people with the drinking woman began to attack the officers and “a large fight broke out,” police said, adding that they called for backup.
Police said five were arrested and multiple officers were injured — including the one who had to be taken to a nearby hospital, but who is expected to fully recover.
The officer’s injuries were “described as serious,” KABC reported.
“This is a good reminder to everyone that we have a no tolerance approach to alcohol on our beaches,” police wrote on Facebook.
Huntington Beach Sgt. Jason Melschau said the arrests weren’t related to the Vans U.S. Open of Surfing, an event that was taking place in the city, the Orange County Register reports.
Police didn’t name the people arrested or specify what they might be charged with, saying the incident is still being investigated, according to the newspaper.
This story was originally published August 1, 2019 at 2:20 PM with the headline "Cop confronts drinking beachgoer, gets attacked by crowd, Calif. police say."
