A 47-year-old man with a history of run-ins with the law was arrested Thursday afternoon after Santa Barbara police officers say they witnessed him shove another man in the city’s downtown corridor.
According to a statement issued by the Santa Barbara Police Department, officers were near State and Cota streets around 2:15 p.m. on October 23 conducting an unrelated investigation when they saw Christian DeCoster “intentionally bump and forcefully shove another male.” Officers immediately intervened and attempted to de-escalate the situation.
DeCoster, however, “refused to cooperate with the officer’s detention,” the department stated. He was arrested for battery and resisting officers and booked into Santa Barbara County Jail. According to the District Attorney’s Office, DeCoster is currently out of custody on bail.
Police described the incident as “isolated to the two involved individuals” and confirmed that “there are no safety concerns at this time.”
Court records show this is not DeCoster’s first run-in with law enforcement. Just last month, he was named as the respondent in a civil harassment case. The petition also sought protection for two minors, and a temporary restraining order was issued on October 1.
His criminal history stretches back over a decade in Santa Barbara County, including four separate misdemeanor cases. In 2017, he pleaded no contest to battery on a peace officer, stemming from a March 18 incident in which he was also charged with resisting arrest and public intoxication. Those latter two charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement. DeCoster was sentenced to 60 days in county jail and ordered to pay $345 in fees in that case.
