Charges: Little Falls Man Calls 911, Pepper Sprays Responding Officers
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 46-year-old Little Falls man is accused of pepper spraying two police officers who responded to his 911 calls Tuesday, according to the Morrison County Attorney's Office.
The Morrison County Dispatch received multiple 911 calls on July 7 between 4 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. from Scott Patrick Garman, who was yelling and swearing at dispatchers about officers who had been at his residence earlier in the evening, the criminal complaint said. The dispatcher then requested officers with Little Falls police to go to Garman's house on Sixth Street Northeast.
When two officers arrived at Garman's residence, they observed him sitting on the front steps of his residence with a small canister in his hand, which appeared to be some kind of pepper spray. The officers then ordered him to put the can down, to which he said, "F—k you. You are on my property." The officers responded, saying that he was the one who called 911, which is why they were there.
According to the complaint, after being told to put the weapon down five or six times, Garman pointed the can at the officers with his finger on the trigger. When officers attempted to deploy a Taser on Garman, he sprayed the pepper spray in the faces of the officers.
One the officers immediately became disoriented and blinded by the pepper spray. The effects of the pepper spray were so debilitating he was unable to speak on the radio with his dispatcher.
The other officer, who also felt the effects of the pepper spray, ordered Garman to the ground and advanced toward him. Garman, however, reached for the can of pepper spray and the officer then used his Taser and also had to hit Garman with his baton to gain compliance, the complaint said. Garman was then arrested and handcuffed.
Authorities said the officer who received the brunt of the pepper spray was coughing violently and the skin on his arms and face were burning. He also had to flush his eyes with water and put his face in front of an air conditioning vent to blow cold air on him.
Police seized the pepper spray and identified it as bear counter assault spray, which is intended to deter bears from attacking and is not to be used on humans.
Garman now faces two felony counts of fourth-degree assault on a peace officer and one gross misdemeanor count of obstructing legal process with force. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison per felony charge and one year for the gross misdemeanor charge.
