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On September 11, 2026, around 12:45 p.m., Officers were in the area of 800 Shoreline Drive handling a call for service when an uninvolved individual approached the officers, verbally threatened them, and brandished an edged weapon.
Officers attempted to detain the subject, who was still armed with the weapon, but they refused to follow verbal commands and fled toward a crowded area near Leadbetter Beach.
The subject continued to flee onto the beach and into the ocean, still armed, and continued to refuse to follow commands to drop the weapon. The Santa Barbara City Fire Department and Harbor Patrol also responded in case a water rescue was needed.
A Santa Barbara Police Co-Response officer arrived on scene and continued speaking to the subject in hopes of de-escalating and gaining compliance.
Officers deployed less-lethal sponge munitions, causing the subject to drop the weapon and allowing officers to safely arrest him without further incident.
Officers identified the subject as 34-year-old John Michael Moore of Santa Barbara.
Moore was taken to Cottage Hospital for a medical evaluation and then transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where they were booked.
This case is still under active investigation, and no further information is available at this time.
