Suspicious vehicle call leads to wild MV melee as man attacks, punches, throws, sheriff’s K-9

MORENO VALLEY — Reports of a suspicious vehicle parked inside a Moreno Valley residential neighborhood early this morning led to the apprehension of a man who violently resisted deputies and attacked a sheriff’s K-9 that assisted with detaining the man.

Wild video of the man’s Sept. 9 apprehension later showed the large, shirtless and shoe-less man punching and beating the sheriff’s K-9 while resisting numerous deputies who flooded into the neighborhood to help the first responding officers.

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Deputies assigned to the Moreno Valley Police Station were dispatched to the 24000 block of Carman Ln. about 1:30 a.m., after receiving reports of a suspicious and occupied vehicle parked in front of a residence, Riverside Sheriff’s spokesperson Robyn Flores later explained.

When the first responding deputy arrived in the darkened neighborhood, northwest of Iris Ave. and Indian St., he found a man and woman sitting inside a black Nissan sedan. The woman was in the driver’s seat and the male, who has not yet been publicly identified, was sitting in the passenger seat, according to Flores.

When the deputy attempted to speak with the driver, the man reportedly would not allow the woman to speak with the official.

At some point the man exited or was removed from the vehicle and began fighting with officials at the scene, causing a deputy to put out a priority call for assistance. The deputy’s radio call for help eventually brought more than a dozen deputies, as well as a patrol supervisor and a K-9 and its handler.

An area stringer/photographer who supplies video footage to RCNS and other Southern California news organizations arrived at the scene and began filming the incident, even as deputies were still converging on the area, arriving from around the city with their emergency lights flashing and sirens wailing.

Although the video of the violent altercation starts after the incident began and did not show anything that happened up to that point, the man can be seen in a driveway flailing wildly at deputies and the sheriff’s K-9, while screaming incoherently.

A woman can be seen nearby and heard on the video screaming, “Please just stop Matthew! Just stop! I love you!”

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As the nearly seven minute recording begins, several deputies can be seen surrounding the subject, issuing loud commands for the man to “Stop resisting,” and “Get on the ground,” but he continues fighting with the K-9 and resisting the deputies’ efforts to subdue him.

At one point as the man continued fighting, the K-9 managed to knock the subject backwards onto the ground near the middle of the street. But as the dog moved in the man repeatedly punched the K-9 in its face before grabbing the dog by its snout and shaking its head violently.

The dog’s handler can be heard yelling, “Get off my dog! Let go of my dog!” while striking the man in the back of the head and around his back and shoulders; all while trying to pull his K-9 partner away from the large man’s grip. The subject then grabbed the dog by its head and neck and threw it to the side before picking up and dragging the K-9 the rest of the way across the street, back toward his parked vehicle where the incident began.

Throughout the entire incident, a half-dozen deputies, some with their collapsible batons out, continued their coordinated efforts to subdue the violently resisting man and take him into custody. A patrol Sgt. monitored the chaotic scene as other deputies kept area residents and curious onlookers at bay, many of whom came out of their homes after hearing the wild fight.

As the video continues, deputies eventually managed to overpower the screaming and flailing man and get him into handcuffs. In spite of being handcuffed the man never stops resisting deputies – even as officials are heard requesting medical personnel to the scene for him.

At one point the subject can be seen on the video grabbing a deputy’s baton with his handcuffed hands, causing the officer to issue several distraction strikes into the middle of the man’s back while ordering him to let go of the baton.

Deputies could later be heard telling the man to “calm down, buddy,” while reassuring him they did not want to hurt him and saying, “It’s OK bud, we’re on your side.”

Although several deputies had their expandable batons out during the violent encounter, during the part of the man’s apprehension that was filmed only one deputy appeared to strike the subject twice with his baton.

Medical personnel soon arrived to treat various minor injuries the man may have sustained while resisting the deputies and fighting with the K-9, which appeared to consist mostly of scrapes and bruises.

Sheriff’s officials have not yet stated if the man was arrested or what charges he could be facing and an online jail records search revealed no further information.

It was not immediately known if the K-9 or any of the responding deputies were injured during the melee, and Moreno Valley PD’s investigation into why the man and woman were parked in the neighborhood is ongoing.

Video footage of the violent incident, filmed by RVCNews, has not yet been publicly released.

This is a developing story that will be updated as new information is available.

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RVCNews photos

 

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Trevor Montgomery, 47, recently moved to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor 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, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 14 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.