A Ferguson Township man was arrested Saturday for allegedly assaulting employees of a downtown State College bar, then biting and hitting borough police officers.
Shawn M.R. Cox, 21, refused requests to leave Champs, 139 S. Allen St., and staff forcibly removed him just after midnight, according to an affidavit of probable cause. He punched and bit one employee, drawing blood and leaving teeth marks, and attempted to punch another employee, police wrote.
When police arrived, bar staff had restrained Cox. During the officers’ conversation with Cox, “he pulled skin from the bar staff’s hand out of his mouth and had blood on his body from when he bit the victim,” police wrote. He also smelled strongly of alcohol and his speech was slurred, according to the affidavit.
An ambulance arrived to take Cox to Mount Nittany Medical Center for a medical evaluation and he verbally berated EMTs, police wrote. He then allegedly began to fight with officers who were trying to guide him onto a stretcher.
Cox attempted to bite the four officers on the scene, as well as EMS personnel, according to the affidavit. He bit one officer’s finger, drawing blood, and grazed another’s forearm, causing an abrasion, police wrote.
Once at the hospital, Cox allegedly continued to resist and was placed in restraints then sedated.
When an officer returned at 7 a.m. to serve an arrest warrant, Cox was attempting to leave and was being monitored by security, according to the affidavit. After being told he would be arrested and taken to the Centre County Correctional Facility, Cox replied “Not going to happen,” police wrote.
While two officers attempted to place him in handcuffs, Cox allegedly punched one in the chest twice with a closed fist and continued resisting as police and hospital security tried to take him to the ground, according to the affidavit. Another officer deployed a Taser to subdue Cox and he was placed on the ground and handcuffed. While being advised to stop resisting, Cox replied, “Frankly speaking, no,” police wrote.
Cox is charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault, one felony count of aggravated assault of a designated individual, two misdemeanor counts each of simple assault and resisting arrest, one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct and summary counts of harassment and public drunkenness.
He was arraigned by District Judge Don Hahn and is detained at the Centre County Correctional Facility. Bail was set at $62,500 for charges in the bar case and $35,000 for the hospital incident.
Preliminary hearings are scheduled for Sept. 4.
