Man sprays officer in face with bear spray in attempt to escape, California police say
A 29-year-old man sprayed an officer in the face with bear spray as he tried to flee, police said.
An officer tried to stop the man who was riding his bicycle around 9:45 p.m. Saturday, June 18, in Fairfield, police said in a Facebook post.
Police said the man wouldn’t cooperate with the officer and became confrontational.
When the officer tried to arrest the man, he pulled out a can of bear spray and deployed it over his shoulder, police said.
The officer got a face full of the spray, police said. Then the officer used a Taser, but the two continued to struggle for five minutes, police said.
Other officers helped take the man into custody.
In addition to bear deterrent, officers found a Ramset powder actuated nailer on the man. The tool is used to shoot nails into hard surfaces like concrete.
The man’s tool had a .22 caliber round inside of it and could be used like a pistol, police said. It’s known as a zip gun or improvised firearm.
The man had two felony warrants out for his arrest in Solano County before he was taken into custody on eight additional felonies.
“We are extremely grateful Officer Kimball sustained limited injuries,” police said in the post.
Fairfield is about 40 miles southwest of Sacramento.
This story was originally published June 20, 2022 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Man sprays officer in face with bear spray in attempt to escape, California police say."
