PORT ANGELES — A 62-year-old Port Angeles man has been charged with third-degree assault of a law enforcement officer for allegedly shoving and spitting on a city lawman.
Gary Carl Borneman Sr. was charged Tuesday for a Monday morning incident at Francis Street Park in which he allegedly assaulted Port Angeles Police Officer Jeffrey Thaxton.
Borneman was being held Wednesday in the Clallam County jail on $5,000 bail.
Thaxton said he observed Borneman folding up blankets along the Olympic Discovery Trail at Francis Street Park at about 7:06 a.m. Monday.
The officer greeted Borneman and told him he wasn’t allowed to sleep or camp overnight in city parks, Thaxton wrote in the affidavit for probable cause.
“He immediately began shouting and cursing,” Thaxton wrote in an arrest report.
Borneman then grabbed Thaxton by the upper left arm and shoved him, pushing him back, and spat on the officer, police alleged.
“I believe the spit landed on my uniform as I did not feel the spit hit my face, but it was very cold outside, approximately 37 degrees,” Thaxton wrote in his report.
Thaxton said he called for backup and drew his Taser at the suspect.
“He kept yelling profanities and had very hostile body language and told me if I approached I’d get killed,” Thaxton wrote.
“He ignored my commands to get on the ground and wouldn’t identify himself. I deployed the Taser but it was ineffective because of his bulky clothing.”
Port Angeles Police Cpl. Kori Malone arrived a short time later and repeatedly told Borneman to get on the ground.
Malone wrote in her report that Borneman did not comply and yelled another obscenity.
Thaxton deployed his Taser a second time and missed. Malone deployed her Taser and connected with both darts, knocking Borneman to the grass, she said.
After two other officers put Borneman in handcuffs, the suspect continued to yell profanities at police and the medics who tried to evaluate him, according to the report.
Borneman refused medical aid and walked to a patrol car under his own power, Malone wrote.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge Christopher Melly signed a referral for Borneman to be evaluated by Peninsula Behavioral Health.
Borneman will be arraigned Oct. 21.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.
