On Wednesday, March 15th, 2023, at 9:08 pm, the Turlock Police Department was dispatched to a reported suspicious person near the intersection of Vermont Ave and S Orange St, Turlock, who was swinging some sort of melee weapon at passing vehicles.

A sergeant arrived on scene and located a man in the area later identified as Caesar Casarez, 38, of Turlock. Casarez had an object in his hand, however, the sergeant was unable to tell what it was and Casarez failed to stop after being given several lawful orders to do so.

Casarez eventually began running away from the sergeant and was taken to the ground where he actively resisted. Casarez was tased, however, he continued to resist and even attempted to grab the sergeant’s taser.

Assisting officers eventually arrived and scene and assisted with handcuffing Casarez.

Casarez was arrested and transported to a local hospital where he was medically cleared. Afterward, he was booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on charges of possession of a leaded cane, obstructing or resisting a public officer, and violation of parole.

Prior to Casarez being handcuffed, a responding officer was involved in a collision while responding “code 3”, meaning under emergency conditions. The officer was not injured, however, his patrol vehicle sustained moderate damage and had to be towed away after striking a few poles.