Video shows attack on LA officer inside police station

A graphic security video of an attack on a Los Angeles police officer shows the suspect knock the officer to the ground inside the station, pistol-whip him with his own gun and point it at his chest.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the video footage that shows the Saturday night assault inside the Harbor Community station in San Pedro. The officer, whose name has not been released, was recovering from his injuries at home Tuesday and has worked for the Los Angeles Police Department for more than 30 years.

Police say Jose Cerpa Guzman, 29, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of a police officer after a pursuit Saturday. Guzman was seen getting in a pickup truck and arrested within blocks of the station, police said.

He is being held in lieu of $2.23 million bail, court records show. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

L A PD Chief Michel Moore has called the attack “a brutal and immediate assault” and said it was “by the grace of God that the officer survived it.”

Guzman has not been linked to subversive groups or actions, Moore said. “We don’t know what his intentions were,” the chief said.

The incident came two weeks after two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies were ambushed as they sat in their police vehicle in Compton, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) north of San Pedro. The officers suffered serious gunshot wounds but both have been released from a hospital. No arrests have been made.

Craig Lally, president of the union that represents rank-and-file LAPD officers, said the attack inside the police station — “which is our home” — was among the most horrific incidents he’s seen in his career.