by F. Scott Faulkner
September 12, 2016 – Santa Barbara, CA
John Michael Moore, 34, of Santa Barbara, was arrested after threatening officers and brandishing a weapon.
Just after noon on September 11, Santa Barbara Police Department officers were on
routine patrol in the vicinity of the city’s popular Ledbetter Beach where several
hundred locals and tourists were gathered, seeking respite from record-breaking
temperatures.
Upon arrival in the beach parking lot, the officers were approached by Moore. According to Santa Barbara Police Lt.
Ethan Ragsdale, Moore “approached the officers, verbally threatened them and
brandished an edged weapon.”
Police ordered him to drop the weapon, but he allegedly refused to comply and ran
toward Leadbetter Beach. Officers followed as the man continued across the sand and
entered the water while still carrying the weapon.
“The subject continued to flee onto the beach and into the ocean, still armed, and
continued to refuse to follow commands to drop the weapon,” at which point the cops
deployed less-lethal sponge munitions, “causing the subject to drop the weapon and
allowing officers to safely arrest him without further incident.”
A Santa Barbara co-response officer joined the operation, along with personnel from
Harbor Patrol and the Santa Barbara City Fire Department.
Moore was initially transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, but was soon
released and transported to Santa Barbara County Jail where he remains in custody
pending a bail hearing.
