A 54-year-old Davenport man is in custody after police allege he took pepper spray from an officer and bit an emergency medical technician, according to court records.
Charles Bell faces a felony charge of disarming a police officer, an aggravated misdemeanor charge of assault on persons in certain occupations – bodily injury, and a serious misdemeanor charge of assault on persons in certain occupations, court records show.
Shortly before 2:30 p.m. Monday, Davenport Police responded to Hy-Vee, 1823 E. Kimberly Road, Davenport, for a disturbance, court records show.
Officers found Bell in a parking lot, where police allege he showed signs of intoxication, with “bloodshot/watery eyes, slurred speech, unsteady gait, improper balance, and the odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his person,” police allege in affidavits, which say Bell “was also saturated in his own urine.”
Bell was unable to provide a preliminary breath test sample, police allege in affidavits.
While officers tried to place Bell in handcuffs, he “would make himself become dead weight, refuse to cooperate, and pull away from officers,” police say in affidavits. Additionally, Bell “would also then remove an officer’s OC spray (pepper spray) from his duty belt.”
Eventually, Bell was handcuffed. Because he was so intoxicated, MEDIC was requested to transport (him) to the hospital, affidavits show.
While MEDIC personnel were trying to give Bell medical treatment, “he would spit into the face of one of them” and “raise himself from the gurney and bite one of them on the right bicep.” The victim suffered “a fresh and bloody laceration to his bicep.”
Bell, who is being held on $8,000 bond in Scott County Jail, is set for a preliminary hearing at 10 a.m. Feb. 9 in Scott County Court.
