Man accused of grabbing Evansville officer's Taser
EVANSVILLE—An Evansville man is accused of trying to take an officer's Taser in a bar fracas July 4.
James T. Cothard, 22, of 525 E. Main St., Apt. C, is charged with trying to disarm a police officer, a felony, and resisting an officer, according to a criminal complaint issued Monday.
Police were called to the Night Owl Bar, 19 E. Main St. in Evansville, at 1:55 a.m. July 4 and saw “a large amount of people yelling and pushing each other” on one side of the building.
One officer was escorting one person out of the bar when he passed by Cothard, and Cothard grabbed the officer's Taser, which was in the officer's duty belt, according to the complaint.
The officer stopped and told Cothard not to touch him, and continued to escort the other man out of the bar, where he told another officer to arrest Cothard, according to the complaint.
As Cothard left the bar, an officer told him he was under arrest, and Cothard replied that he was not under arrest and began walking away, according to the complaint.
The first officer then grabbed Cothard's arm, and Cothard pulled away, and Cothard “was stabilized against a wall” and handcuffed, according to the complaint.
Cothard resisted while being handcuffed, and as he was being taken to jail, he yelled that officers had no reason to arrest him, the complaint states.
Police Chief Scott McElroy said Monday that such disturbances are not common at the Night Owl.