A man assaulted two Bloomington Police officers Friday after they responded to a call from a female who said she was grabbed by the man around the 100 block of N. College Street. Multiple witnesses saw the police being struck.
A 20-year-old female, who was with her mother, called the police and reported a man grabbed her by the buttocks as he walked by and said something about rape culture around 2:30 p.m. The man was described as a tall Black male wearing a red IU shirt, according to police. The police said the man is 30-years-old, 6 foot 4 inches tall, and weighs 250 pounds, and is known for causing disturbances in the downtown area.
As a male police officer was investigating the assault, and speaking with the woman, a female officer located the man in an alley south of the Chase Bank building at the corner of College and Kirkwood. The male officer left the area of the investigation and went to help the female officer.
The female police officer told the man she needed to talk to him, and that he needed to put his hands behind his back, but the man began leaning up against a wall and asking why he was being detained. The police officer explained why to the man, according to the police. The man was then asked several more times to put his hands behind his back, but he refused. The two officers then attempted to grab his arms to put them behind his back, but he began to shake off the officers and punched the female officer twice in the face, and struck the other officer several times.
As more officers arrived, the man still refused to comply while fighting and resisting. But officers did take him into custody without injury and had him taken to IU Health Bloomington Hospital for a psychological evaluation.
The female police officer was quoted in the police report that when she talked to the man, he said something about rape culture, and needing sex, then tried to walk away. He refused to put his hands behind his back and struck her at least twice. She also witnessed the other police officer being struck in the face. The other responding officer said he didn’t know how many times he’d been struck.
A witness told the Bloomingtonian Friday that the officer was struck five times. Another witness said the man tossed the police around like “ragdolls.”
According to police, a police Sgt. Investigated the injuries to the police officers. The female officer suffered a contusion, and a hematoma, and the male officer a laceration to the head. The officers were treated at the scene and returned to duty.
The man who allegedly grabbed the woman, and struck the officers was arrested and is being charged with sexual battery, a level 6 felony; intimidation, level 6 felony; two counts of battery of a police officer, level 6 felonies; and resisting law enforcement, a level 6 felony.
Editor’s note: Police were able to answer questions Saturday about this particular incident, but not broader questions about policing policies that would need to be directed to the Chief of Police, City Council, or the Mayor’s Office. The Bloomington City Council meets again Tuesday and will discuss the 2021 budget for the Bloomington Police Department. The meeting begins at 6 p.m.
