El Cajon: Officer Violently Assaulted By Man Armed With Bat

BuffyNews
Published on Mar 10, 2022
Dramatic body camera video shows an El Cajon Police officer being attacked by a man who was armed with a baseball bat on Friday, March 4th. The man had reportedly been committing theft and threatening citizens, prompting the police response to the Walmart store in the 600 block of Fletcher Parkway.

Upon making contact with the 26-year-old male, he attempted to strike the officer in the head with the bat. The officer was able to defend himself and restrain the suspect until backup arrived. During the incident, the suspect is heard saying "I want to kill you bro".

Since his arrest, the suspect has been identified as Julian Kurko. It was discovered that Kurko had a lengthy criminal history dating back to 2014, including assault with a deadly weapon, brandishing a replica firearm and making criminal threats. He had been arrested for other violent assaults on police officers in 2019 and 2020. He is currently in custody at San Diego County Jail on charges of attempted murder of a police officer and armed robbery. The officer involved in the incident shown in the body camera video has since returned to full duty.