Walnut Creek Cop Arrested For Allegedly Beating Woman With Baseball Bat

A Walnut Creek police officer was arrested after allegedly donning a mask and beating a woman with a bat in Richmond earlier this month, a police captain said today.

Gregory Thompson, 53, of Martinez, was arrested in the early morning hours of Aug. 16 in Richmond, where he allegedly used a baseball bat to attack a woman walking in a residential neighborhood, according to Richmond police Capt. Bisa French.

He was not wearing a police uniform or in a police patrol car at the time of the alleged assault, she said.

Neither prosecutors nor Walnut Creek police Chief Thomas Chaplin were immediately available for comment on the case this morning.

The arrest happened after police received multiple calls around 2 a.m. on Aug. 16 about a woman screaming and a man with a bat, according to French.

She said when officers arrived on the scene, a witness pointed out Thompson, who was sitting inside his parked car. While talking with Thompson officers noticed a mask on the vehicle’s floorboard.

A search of the car also turned up a bat, two guns and zip ties, French said.

Thompson, who identified himself as a police officer, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats and felony vandalism, police said. He was taken to county jail in Richmond and released the following day on bail.

The victim was taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries suffered in the attack and was expected to recover, French said.

She said police were unable to locate a second woman who was also reportedly struck by Thompson when she intervened to try to stop the attack.

--Bay City News