CEDAR CITY — An Enoch man was booked into jail on Monday after he allegedly punched and kicked police officers who were attempting to place him under arrest.
Russell Don Berry, 64, was booked into Iron County Jail on Monday afternoon on suspicion of multiple offenses, including three counts of assault on a police officer, a class A misdemeanor.
According to a probable cause statement filed in support of his arrest, Berry also faces charges of failure to stop at the command of police, interfering with an arrest, criminal trespassing within a dwelling, making violent threats, intoxication and disorderly conduct.
According to the affidavit, a man went to the Cedar City Police Department offices just before 11 a.m. Monday to report that Berry had entered his home earlier that morning and threatened to punch him in the face.
“The victim then told him to leave, and Russell walked out of the house yelling vulgarities at him all the way to his vehicle,” the affidavit alleges.
Police officers from both Cedar City and Enoch then responded to Berry’s residence in Enoch, where they reportedly found him in his front yard.
The arresting officer said that he attempted to have a conversation with Berry, who indicated he did not want to speak to the police any further.
“He began to walk away towards the front door of his home, at which time I hopped the fence behind him and told him he was under arrest,” the arresting officer wrote.
Berry then allegedly replied something to the effect of, “No I’m not, I’m going back into my house,” according to the affidavit.
The arresting officer added that Berry threatened to throw his mug full of coffee on him.
Meanwhile, two other officers surrounded Berry and commanded him to drop the coffee mug. One of them drew his Taser but did not deploy it, according to the charging document.
One of the officers then knocked the mug out of Berry’s hand while another one tackled him to the ground. During the ensuing scuffle, Berry allegedly punched one of the officers in the face and kicked another in the inner thigh.
As Berry continued to resist arrest, he kept yelling obscenities at the officers, who reportedly could smell alcohol on his breath, the affidavit states.
The three officers were subsequently able to subdue Berry and place him under arrest.
At the time of the publishing of this report on Tuesday, Berry’s initial court appearance had not yet been scheduled.
This report is based on statements from court documents and law enforcement officials and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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