A man who knocked a Berkeley, Calif., police officer unconscious after punching and kicking him in the head and then trying to grab his loaded gun was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder Monday, police said.
The incident has also opened up -- again -- a call by the police union for officers to be issued stun guns. Berkeley and San Francisco remain the only city police departments in the Bay Area that don't arm their officers with the devices.
Carlos Alberto Delagarza, 43, was arrested after the short struggle on Bolivar Drive along Aquatic Park, adjacent to Interstate 80. He remains in custody without bail at the Berkeley City Jail after being released from a hospital with minor injuries.
"This was an extremely brutal attack," Berkeley police union President Sgt. Chris Stines told the Oakland Tribune, adding that the officer, on the force for a decade, is now "doing well" despite "fairly severe" injuries. His name was not released. He will be on leave until at least the end of this week, Stines said.
