MARTINEZ, Calif. —
A Walnut Creek police officer
has been charged for allegedly donning a mask and beating a woman with a
baseball bat in Richmond last month, a Contra Costa County prosecutor said
Monday.
Gregory Thompson, a 54-year-old
Martinez resident and 30-year Walnut Creek police veteran, was charged with
felony assault likely to cause great bodily injury, felony vandalism and being
armed in the commission of a felony, Deputy District Attorney Barry Grove said.
Thompson's arraignment on the
charges was scheduled in Contra Costa County Superior Court Monday afternoon.
Richmond police said officers
arrested Thompson in the early morning hours of Aug. 16 after several residents
called around 2 a.m. to report a woman screaming and a man with a bat in the
4000 block of Clinton Avenue in Richmond.
As officers arrived on the
scene, witnesses pointed out Thompson, who was sitting nearby in his parked
car. He wasn't wearing his police uniform or in a patrol car at the time,
police said.
Officers approached the suspect
and noticed a mask lying on the car's floorboard. A search of the car turned up
a baseball bat, two guns and zip ties, police said.
Police said the victim was
taken to a hospital for injuries suffered in the beating and was expected to
recover.
Officers learned the woman had
been walking in the area looking for assistance after her car ran out of gas
when she was attacked.
Police last month were also
attempting to locate a second woman who was also apparently wounded when she
stepped in to try to stop the attack.
Thompson, who identified
himself as a police officer, was arrested and taken to county jail in Richmond
and released on bail the following day.
He has remained out on bail but
is expected to surrender at the county jail in Martinez Monday afternoon, Grove
said.
Walnut Creek police have said
Thompson was placed on administrative leave soon after his arrest and that the
department is conducting its own investigation.
He was working most recently as
a patrol officer, according to Walnut Creek police Capt. Mark Perlite.
