South Bay Man Arrested For Attempted Murder Of Police Officer

A 44-year-old South Bay man has been arrested for the attempted murder of a Long Beach Police officer, authorities say.

The suspect was identified by Long Beach Police as 44-year-old Arturo Fernandez, a resident of Torrance.

Subscribe

According to the LBPD, officers responded to an unknown trouble call in the 200 block of West Broadway around 2:42 pm on April 17. While en route, officers were told that one subject was possibly armed with an unknown weapon.

"Upon arrival, officers located the suspect matching the description provided by the calling party and attempted to de-escalate the situation to get the suspect to surrender," the LBPD said in a statement. "A use of force occurred, during which time, the suspect produced a knife and stabbed an LBPD officer multiple times."

Four uniformed Department of Homeland Security federal air marshals who were working on a security assignment nearby witnessed the assault, rushed to the aid the Long Beach police officers, and assisted them in taking Fernandez into custody, according to the LBPD.

The injured officer was taken to the hospital, and has since been released, authorities said.

“This officer put himself in harm’s way in the defense of others and sustained serious injuries in doing so. I am very grateful that he is going to recover," Long Beach Police Chief Wally Hebeish said. "I would also like to commend the additional LBPD officers who were on scene and the federal air marshals who helped take this dangerous suspect into custody without further incident.”

After being medically cleared at the hospital, Fernandez was booked at Long Beach City Jail for attempted murder, with bail set at $1,000,000.

Anyone with information regarding the incident can contact LBPD Homicide Detectives Juan Carlos Reyes and Lisette Temblador at (562) 570-7244.