Officer Suffers 'Significant' Injury In Scuffle With Transient: SRPD

SANTA ROSA, CA — A Santa Rosa police officer was suffered a significant injury Thursday while trying to detain a man downtown, a sergeant said.

The officer assigned to SRPD's Downtown Enforcement Team was patroling 6th and Wilson streets around 10:30 a.m. Thursday when he saw a known felon with a warrant out for his arrest, Sgt. Patricia Seffens said.

Police identified the suspect as Victor Harker Lozada, a 50-year-old transient from Santa Rosa.

"The officer was familiar with Lozada and confirmed Lozada had an outstanding felony arrest warrant for a pre-trial release violation," Seffens said. "Lozada was on pre-trial release for a pending robbery charge. The officer contacted Lozada, who immediately became aggressive with the officer. Lozada began walking away, refusing to follow instructions, stopping only to face the officer to take fighting stances and clenching his fists."

The officer requested backup while trying to de-escalate the situation.

"Lozada continued to refuse, challenging the officer verbally as the officer walked closer to him," Seffen said.

As two other downtown enforcement officers arrived, the first officer produced a Taser and Lozada was told he needed to comply with instructions or possibly be Tased.

Lozada again refused and the officer struck him with the Taser. The device, designed to temporarily incapacitate a potentially violent subject so they may be safely taken into custody, had little effect on Lozada, Seffens said.

The officer discharged the Taser a second time, again with little effect.

"Lozada began backpedaling away, forcing the officer to tackle him, causing Lozada to lose his balance," Seffens said. "During the tackle, the officer sustained a dislocated shoulder. The other two officers immediately attempted to detain Lozada in handcuffs but Lozada continued to struggle and refused to give the officers one of his hands, which was concealed near the waistband of his pants."

The officers worked to remove Lozada's hand from his waist while verbally de-escalating the situation. Lozada eventually complied and allowed the officers to handcuff him. Seffens said two sets of handcuffs were used because of Lozada’s large stature.

It is alleged that while handcuffed, Lozada made several threats toward the injured officer.

Lozada was searched for weapons, but no were found on his person, police said.

Lozada suffered minor cuts and was taken to an area hospital as a precautionary measure because of the use of a Taser. After he was medically cleared, Lozada was booked into Sonoma County jail on suspicion of felony threats and resisting a peace officer, in addition to his outstanding felony robbery warrant.

The injured officer was also taken to an area hospital, where he was treated for a dislocated shoulder and later released.

Seffens said SRPD's Downtown Enforcement Team is a specialized group of eight uniformed officers and one sergeant entrusted with addressing homelessness-related complaints and quality-of-life issues.

"The team has made a significant and meaningful impact on our community by collaborating with numerous organizations and city administration to address homelessness through outreach and enforcement efforts," she said.