HEMET (CNS) - An Orange County man who allegedly broke into a Hemet woman's house and tried to attack her with a shovel, then assaulted a police canine set loose on him, was in critical condition today after going into cardiac arrest while being forcibly detained, police reported.
The 47-year-old alleged assailant, whose name was not released, was taken into custody shortly before 11 p.m. Thursday in the 100 block of North Hamilton Avenue, near Florida Avenue, according to Hemet police Lt. Eddie Pust. He said a woman called for help after she encountered a suspect trying to break a window on her two-story house.
Patrol officers reached the property within a couple of minutes and spotted the man on a balcony, at which point they attempted to approach him, according to Pust. The suspect allegedly threw several objects at the lawmen, who turned a police service dog loose to apprehend him. Pust alleged that the man began beating the canine, prompting officers to deploy a Taser to subdue him.
Moments after handcuffing the suspect, he ``became unresponsive,'' and officers began CPR until paramedics arrived and took over, Pust said.
The man was taken to a hospital, where he remains in intensive care, the lieutenant said. He said if and when the man recovers, he will be booked into Riverside County jail on suspicion of attempted burglary, assault with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest.
The canine did not require veterinary care, and the property owner was not injured.