A small town California mayor was allegedly attacked while he was reportedly discussing a fire-damaged building with local officials and congressional staffers, according to a Fox News report.
According to the report, the incident took place while Marysville Mayor Chris Branscum was with City Councilman Dom Belza, Police Chief Christian Sachs and two congressional staffers, standing near a historic site.
Belza said the suspect, identified afterward as Derek Hopkins, 36, allegedly struck Branscum without warning before fleeing the scene, the outlet reported.
Small town California mayor allegedly sucker punched by homeless man near congressional staffers, police chief https://t.co/HP00r9Y8S0
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Belza told Fox News that he immediately pursued the alleged attacker, who turned and punched him as well.
“I saw the attacker take off running down the street, so instinct kicked in, and I ran after the attacker,” Belza reportedly said.
The councilman managed to subdue the alleged attacker until police arrived, he told the outlet. Hopkins is facing multiple charges, including elder abuse and assault of a public office holder, both felonies, the outlet reported.
The judge reportedly ruled that he be held on a $50,000 bail.
Belza went on to tie the incident to what he called “soft on crime” policies in California, according to the Fox News report.
“It speaks to a much bigger issue in the state. This attack is really a result of the soft-on-crime policy that California has implemented over the last 10 years,” Belza said.
Belza then named the state’s Proposition 47 that reclassified several felonies as misdemeanors, the outlet reported. “Prop 47 is the anchor of that soft on crime,” he reportedly added.
He reportedly said smaller communities like Marysville are facing the consequences. “We’ve just seen a huge increase in those types of crime, not to mention the increase in hard crimes, like murders,” he said.