A California councilman is sounding the alarm on his state’s lenient crime policies – pointing the finger at Vice President Kamala Harris – after he and a local mayor were attacked in broad daylight by a homeless man.
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED?
Marysville City Councilman Dom Belza recounted the shocking incident to Fox News, describing how he and Mayor Chris Branscum were assaulted on August 22 while assessing fire damage to a historic building downtown.
‘We were standing on the sidewalk near the site having a casual conversation. An individual was crossing at the crosswalk. And right as he got to the mayor, who had his back turned, the individual reached back and swung and hit him right square in the back,’ Belza said.
‘There was no communication, no altercation. There was nothing that instigated the punch. It was just a complete random act of violence.’
BRANSCUM WAS AFRAID
Mayor Branscum, still healing from the attack, told KCRA-TV: ‘I thought I was hit by a car. I was hit so hard. The next thing I know, there’s this guy sliding by me, running, and I yelled an expletive at him.’
SUSPECT ARRESTED
Derek Hopkins, 36, was arrested for the unprompted attack and now faces eight charges, including felony assault of a public official and felony elder abuse, with his bail set at $50,000.
READ ALSO – Iconic 1970s sitcom star who won a Tony Award is unrecognizable at 86… WHO IS SHE?
Belza reportedly chased down the fleeing suspect, who landed another punch before the councilman restrained him.
‘I saw the attacker take off running down the street, so instinct kicked in, and I ran after the attacker,’ Belza said. ‘As I was gaining on him, and we were about halfway down the block, he turned around and saw me over his shoulder.’
‘After that, I engaged him and took him down to the ground and restrained him until the chief of police was able to get there. We held him in custody until he was officially arrested,’ Belza said.
BELZA BLAMES HARRIS
Belza claimed the root of the problem is California’s ‘soft-on-crime’ policies – and he boldly pointed the finger at Harris, California’s former attorney general.
‘In a bigger light and a larger picture of this whole situation, this is something that we’re dealing with on a regular basis,’ he said.
‘Maybe not necessarily where an elected official gets attacked, but where there’s many more of these types of crimes and these types of attacks in communities across California.’
