Hemet: Officer injured during violent confrontation with transient

HEMET – A City of Hemet police officer was injured when he was attacked Sept. 8, by a 46-year-old transient on Post Release Community Supervision out of Kern County. After a violent confrontation and struggle the injured officer arrested the man.

The incident began shortly after 8 a.m., when a Hemet Police Officer responded to a disturbance call at a gas station located in the 2100 block of East Florida Avenue.

When the officer arrived he spoke with the person who called 911, who was part of a cleaning crew at the location. The caller told the officer that a subject, who was later identified as Gerald Owen Peachie, had been at the business and was arguing and yelling at them while they were trying to work. The victim directed the officer to Peachie who was still nearby, sitting in a wheelchair in an adjacent parking lot.

As the officer approached Peachie to find out his side of the story, the man suddenly jumped out of the wheelchair and viciously attacked the officer. The officer and Peachie fell to the ground during the violent and unexpected attack.

“During the physical altercation, Peachie ripped the officer’s badge off his uniform. He then grasped it so that the approximately three inch steel pin portion of the badge was positioned between his knuckles,” a press release from the department explained. “Peachie then swung at the officer with the badge pin as a weapon.”

The officer was able to fight his way away from Peachie and create enough distance between them so he could deploy his baton. The officer was eventually able to subdue Peachie and take him into custody. The officer sustained minor injuries during the arrest.

Paramedics responded to the location and both the officer and Peachie were evaluated and treated at the scene. Peachie was transported to a local hospital for a medical clearance required for booking.

Peachie was later transported to the Southwest Detention Center where he was booked for three felony charges.

A jail record search revealed Peachie was booked on suspicion of battery on a police officer, assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, and felony resisting arrest. He is being held in lieu of $30,000 bail and is scheduled to be seen at an unspecified court Sept. 12.

Anyone who witnessed the attack or who has information related to this incident is encouraged to contact Hemet Police officials at (991) 765-2400. Callers can refer to incident file number 16-8442 and can remain anonymous.

 

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including the Robert Presley Detention Center, the Southwest Station in Temecula, the Hemet Station, and the Lake Elsinore Station, along with many other locations.