St. Thomas police headquarters on Caso Crossing. (File photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News)St. Thomas police headquarters on Caso Crossing. (File photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburn News)
London

St. Thomas officers assaulted during public domestic dispute

A pair of St. Thomas police officers were assaulted while attempting to arrest a man during a domestic assault on Saturday.

A female victim was allegedly assaulted by her former partner when she drove by and found him walking on the street. The woman tried to return an item that belonged to him, and when she drove away, the accused jumped on the hood of her vehicle to stop her from leaving, the woman braked suddenly which caused the man to bounce off, and land on his feet. He began to hit the front windshield with a Bluetooth speaker, which caused significant damage to the vehicle.

The man started to walk away when the victim exited her car to observe the damage. Shortly after, the accused returned to the vehicle and took $40 in cash, and the woman's driver's licence from inside the centre console. Nearby witnesses came to assist and deterred the man away from the scene. When he walked away again, he threw the portable speaker at the victim hitting her leg, she sustained no physical injuries from the incident.

When members of the St. Thomas Police Service arrived to place the accused under arrest, the man became uncooperative and officers had difficulties getting him handcuffed. Eventually, more officers and a citizen arrived to assist, and the man was taken into custody.

During a search, police found a prohibited "flick" knife. Officers believe the man was trying to access the weapon while being arrested. The man became resistant again while being escorted into a police cruiser. During the ordeal, the accused began kicking and attempted to trip the officers, the man also spat in two officers’ faces.

A 30-year-old St. Thomas man has been charged with domestic mischief, assault with a weapon, theft under $5,000, resisting a peace officer, two counts of assaulting a peace officer, and two separate charges of possession of a prohibited weapon.

The man's name has been withheld to protect the identity of the victim. The accused was held in police custody pending a video court appearance on Sunday, where he was released by the courts.

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