By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
WYANDOTTE — A 23-year-old Newport man was arrested at 2:30 a.m. July 1 in the area of Van Alstyne and Oak Street for disorderly conduct and for resisting and obstructing police officers.
The police officers responded to reports of a heavy-set man who was trying to goad people into fighting with him. When they arrived, the man was irate and shouting at people.
Despite his disorderly behavior, the police officers provided him with multiple opportunities to avoid arrest by simply leaving with his friends. However, the man directed derogatory remarks at a police officer, with the officer encouraging him to leave to avoid arrest. His friends tried to pull him to their vehicle, but the man pushed them away and taunted the police officer to arrest him.
The man was then handcuffed. He then began to shout racial slurs at the police officers, and he refused to voluntarily walk to a patrol vehicle. He threw himself on the ground and threatened to sue the officers.
Then he started to shout “I can’t breathe” to incite the crowd, which caused a large group of onlookers to surround the police officers. Two of the officers addressed the crowd, while a third officer tried to control the 300-pound suspect.
The man’s claim that he “couldn’t breathe” were proved wrong as he started to thrash around in an attempt to break free from the police officer. He shoved his shoulder into the police officer’s chest and started to grab at his gear, ripping his prep radio from his uniform.
Eventually, the police officers calmed the crowd and were able to get the man into a patrol car. The man continued his aggressive behavior throughout the booking process.