About 5:35 p.m. the ‘routine’ was shattered by several 9-1-1 calls reporting someone destroying the interior of a house and breaking windows. The suspect was described as a parolee, possibly armed, suicidal, and under the influence of drugs. The two officers did not hesitate to respond even though they knew they could not efficiently deploy tactically with their limited manpower. Switches were thrown, buttons were pushed, and red and blue lights pierced the afternoon as sirens screamed their response.

The two single-officer cars arrived and were met with the sounds of furniture being overturned and glass being shattered. There were animal-like screams coming from the house making it obvious that someone was in an uncontrolled rage. The two officers did not have the time or resources to evacuate neighbors and merely shouted warnings for people to get inside their homes. Shortly after their arrival, the officers saw the suspect run through the house, out the back door, over a fence and into the innocent, family neighborhood. A view of blood splattered floors and walls could be seen through the jagged edges of the shattered front window. The frustrated officers knew if they had the manpower they could have controlled the rear exit of the house. Now, they had an unknown danger running through the yards where children were playing.

One officer ran to his patrol car, radioed dispatch that the suspect was fleeing through back yards, and then gave chase. The other officer wanted to help in the chase, but the house was still an ‘unknown.’ Were there other suspects in the house? Were there injured people in the house? A major rule in police work is not to engage in a foot pursuit alone. This is extremely dangerous and strongly discouraged by all police agencies. But, the officer was totally helpless to assist the pursuing officer and had to maintain a gun-drawn presence at the house.

The officer at the house called for Code-3 (emergency red lights and siren) backup from the sheriff’s office. The pursuing officer radioed that the suspect was running between houses about two blocks away. The officer at the house was torn between maintaining his position and joining the pursuing officer. The officer remained where he stood, gun drawn and waiting for the sheriff’s units to arrive. The officer at the house could see neighbors peeking out their windows as he stood waiting for the reassuring sound of sirens indicating backup was on the way. All he heard was quiet.

The deafening quiet continued for what seemed like hours, but it was really 10 to 12 minutes. And, rather than the two sheriff’s units the officer requested, only one arrived at the house leaving the pursuing officer alone with the suspect. Finally, the breathless, but reassuring voice of the pursuing officer was heard over the radio announcing he had the suspect in custody. The deputy and the other officer entered and searched the glass and blood strewn house. By shear luck, there was no one inside the house; either bleeding to death or wanting to shoot the sole officer on the scene.

The officer at the house asked the deputy to standby at the unsecured house so he could check the welfare of the officer with the suspect. The deputy said to hurry, because at that time there were only two sheriff’s cars covering the entire coast from Los Osos to Big Sur. The deputy said the other sheriff’s car that was requested was on a priority call. The deputy apologized for taking so long to arrive, but he had to respond Code-3 down the treacherous South Bay Boulevard from Los Osos. The officer quickly drove to where the other officer had the suspect handcuffed. While the suspect was being treated for cuts by Fire paramedics, the officers coordinated their efforts and the one hurried back and relieved the deputy.

This incident ended on a positive note, with only the drug-crazed suspect being slightly injured and ending up in jail. But it could have had a very different and tragic ending. The City of Morro Bay could have had officers or innocent citizens injured, or worse. This could be a future price the city pays for having only two officers working a city of 11,000 souls and scores of tourists.

The CALIFORNIA STATE CONSTITUTION, Article 13, section 35, mandates that; “The protection of the public safety is the first responsibility of local government and local officials have an obligation to give priority to the provisions of adequate public safety services.”