A's Pitcher Dallas Braden Goes A Little Crazypants At A Community Meeting In His Hometown

A public meeting was held in Stockton, Calif., last night in order to address the town's high crime rate. That's not something that would normally register on our radar, but when Dallas Braden decides to show up at that meeting with a baseball bat and berate the police chief until he gets himself kicked out, it's something we can't help but take note of.

The entire scene was very strange and uncomfortable, as you can see in video below, which was captured by CBS's local Sacramento affiliate:

Why was Braden so angry? He claims that his grandmother was recently robbed in Stockton, and that he was assaulted in his car. In both cases, Braden felt that the local police force's efforts and competence were lacking. Hence the bat and the indignation.

Putting his theatrics aside, Braden isn't wrong to be concerned about his community. Recently, the violent-crime rate in Stockton has been exponentially higher than the national rate, and Forbes ranked it as the most miserable city in America in 2011.

Still: "Arm yourself or get out. It's the wild west. The boys in blue: they're outgunned" isn't something you want to hear from an angry man holding a baseball bat.

A's Pitcher Gets Heated At Stockton Anti-Violence Meeting, Says He's Moving [CBS Sacramento via Getting Blanked]