Assaults on Glendale police officers were up for the first six months this year, prompting concerns among officials that the trend could continue its rise.
There were 19 assaults on officers from January to June this year, up from 12 for the same period last year, according to a Glendale Police Department report.
During the attacks, officers were scratched, bitten, kicked, punched, elbowed and spat on, according to the report. In most cases, police were responding to calls about domestic assault and drug or alcohol activity.
Two officers had to undergo a battery of tests to check for Hepatitis C after their skin made contact with a bloody parolee, according to police reports. The initial tests came back negative, but they still must undergo tests for three months to be sure they’re not infected.
Glendale Police Chief Ron De Pompa attributed the increasingly violent behavior toward police to a jump in substance-abuse-related arrests and the state's realignment of its prison system, which he said has “displaced the criminal element” into local communities.