The white male suspect who was electroshocked by University Police Oct. 18 with a Taser after he harassed a group of Muslim students is facing one misdemeanor charge of battery on a peace officer.
The charge is in addition to the misdemeanor hit-and-run traffic collision he was cited for hours before the incident near the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
It has also been confirmed that the suspect is a Cal State Long Beach student. However, the full identity of the suspect has still been withheld given the suspect’s mental illnesses.
According to CSULB President F. King Alexander, the university is considering suspending the student.
“Right now we would recommend a high degree of counseling. … He would have to go through a series of counseling and other requirements before he’s allowed to come back,” Alexander said.
The police report that was filed by the arresting officer, Christopher Peters, sheds new light on exactly what happened at the University Student Union.
According to the report, the suspect, 24, used an anti-Semitic slur when he first saw Officer Peters approaching. Later, while being treated by the Long Beach Fire Department, the suspect admitted to being “angry” and said, “I just [expletive] hate Jews and Muslims. I am a pure Christian.”
Prior to being Tasered, the suspect was reported as yelling: “Are you going to hit me? Go ahead and hit me.”
Later, while being taken into custody, the suspect said that the only reason he hit Officer Peters was because he thought he was going to hit him first. The suspect later apologized by saying, “I am sorry for hitting you, officer. I was being a dick.”
At the Pacific Hospital, the suspect said to Officer Peters that he had challenged some of the students he was harassing to fight him. When asked if he had recognized Peters as a police officer, the suspect said he saw the badge and knew he was a police officer but was so angry that he did not focus on it.
The suspect was eventually booked at the Long Beach Police Department jail after being transported from the hospital.
Bradley Zint contributed to this report.
