Man suspected of backing car into gas pump later punches Baker City police officer, security guard
BAKER CITY ID April 13 2021— A Boise man is in the Baker County Jail on multiple counts after the Baker City Police Department reported he hit one of its officers in the face.
Baker City Police Sgt. Wayne Chastain said Andrew Lane Peterman, 36, hit officer Mark Powell and a security guard during an altercation early Tuesday, April 6, at Saint Alphonsus Medical Center-Baker City. Police arrested Peterman for assaulting a peace officer, fourth-degree assault, second-degree criminal mischief and second-degree disorderly conduct.
Powell and the security guard received a medical evaluation at the hospital, which released them early Tuesday morning, Chastain said.
Chastain, who has worked for the Baker City Police Department for 20 years, said it’s quite rare for a local officer to be assaulted by a suspect.
“We really don’t see this a lot,” Chastain said. “It’s an anomaly. The community overall respects what we’re trying to do here.”
The incident started about 12:18 a.m. when police received a call about a vehicle backing into a gas pump at the Jackson’s Food Mart, 500 Campbell St. Chastain said Powell arrived first, and officer Rand Weaver followed almost immediately.
Police suspected Peterman was driving the 2005 Honda Element that struck the gas pump. He initially agreed to undergo field sobriety tests, as Powell suspected Peterman might be intoxicated, Chastain said.
But before Powell could administer the tests, Peterman said he wanted to be taken to the hospital.
A Baker City ambulance took Peterman to Saint Alphonsus, where he was evaluated and released, Chastain said.
But Peterman refused to leave the hospital, and in the ensuing altercation he punched the security guard, Chastain said.
Powell used his stun gun to try to subdue Peterman, who continued to fight, Chastain said, punching Powell twice in the face before Powell arrested him.
Peterman was evaluated again before being taken to the jail, Chastain said.
The situation was particularly challenging for Powell because it happened in the hospital, with doctors, nurses and other civilians present.
“That increases the risk of the situation for sure,” Chastain said.
Chastain said he didn’t have any information about the extent of the damage to the gas pump. He said the fire department wasn’t called to the scene.
Photos from the scene don’t show any liquid on the ground. Chastain said gas pumps are equipped with automatic shutoff valves.
An employee at Jackson’s referred questions to the company’s corporate office in Idaho.
According to Idaho court records, Peterman pleaded guilty on Nov. 13, 2019, to aggravated assault and use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony. He was sentenced to prison in January 2020, and released from prison, on probation, less than a week ago, on April 1, 2021.
According to an online story from KTVB, a Boise TV station, Peterman, then 33, was arrested in September 2018 after police responded to reports of shots fired in a Boise neighborhood. No one was hurt in the incident.
The Observer
