Attempted murder of Orland police officer leads to arrest

A man is behind bars in Glenn County after reportedly trying to take the gun away from an Orland police officer during a struggle in which three shots were fired.

Justin Bentley, 29, of Orland, was booked on suspicion of attempted second degree murder of a peace officer, removing a weapon from a peace officer, battery on a peace officer, resisting arrest and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Bail is set at $500,000, a jail spokesman said.

Bentley was the reported driver of apparent traffic stop by Officer Kyle Cessna just before 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, Orland police Sgt. J.C. Tolle said on Sunday.

Shortly after the stop, Cessna called for backup at the intersection of Colusa and Second streets, claiming a man had attempted to grab for his gun, authorities said.

The reason for the initial traffic stop in the middle of the 800 block of Second Street was not known Sunday.

At some Cessna came to believe Bentley was under the influence of alcohol and attempted to place him in custody when the scuffle broke out, Tolle said.

“He had one hand in cuffs and then the fight started,” the sergeant said.

A single Taser round was deployed, but was not effective, likely due to Bentley’s “loose fitting clothing,” Tolle said.

At that point, Bentley reportedly went after Cessna’s sidearm, a Glock .40-caliber handgun.

Three shots were fired, but it was not known Sunday who had control of the firearm when it was discharged, Tolle said.

Tolle said the attempted second-degree murder allegation stems from the fact Bentley had gone after the firearm wen it had discharged.

“We’ve recovered the three shell casings and one of the rounds,” Tolle said.

The round went through the front door of an occupied home in the 800 block of Second Street, and lodged in a kitchen wall, Tolle said.

No one was hurt.

The other two rounds have not been recovered, Tolle said.

Officers from Anderson, Corning, Red Bluff, Chico, the California Highway Patrol and all Glenn County agencies responded to the call for backup.

Bentley was arrested about 12:45 a.m., authorities said.

“We owe a special thanks to all the agencies that responded so quickly,” Tolle said. “Without that we may not have a suspect in custody today.”

Cessna apparently injured his knee in the initial struggle and was treated at Glenn County Medical Center and released, authorities said.

The officer will be placed on both administrative and medical leave, Tolle said, adding that administrative leave is “standard procedure” in officer-involved shootings.

Bentley also was taken to the hospital for blood tests, authorities said.

Authorities said there are two investigations under way.

An internal administrative investigation is being conducted by the Orland police. A criminal investigation is being conducted by the state Department of Justice, which also sent personnel to the scene.

Tolle said involving the justice department is also standard procedure for Glenn County law enforcement in cases of an officer-involved-shooting.

This is the first officer-involved-shooting in Orland since 1996, Tolle said.