Yellowstone National Park tourists assaults security officer, park ranger
Wyoming June 28 2021 Federal court documents detail a tourist in Yellowstone National Park trying to fight a security guard and park rangers. He additionally became so combative with emergency medical personnel that he had to be sedated en route to the hospital.
Kyle F. Campbell is charged with eight misdemeanors in federal court including disorderly conduct.
According to a criminal complaint, rangers received a report at roughly 5:45 p.m. on Monday that a tour guide denied four people access to their kayaks because they were intoxicated. One person, later identified as Campbell, began making threats.
Campbell and the others reportedly left in a silver minivan pulling a U-Haul trailer.
Not long after, rangers received another call regarding an ongoing incident at the Grant Helispot.
When the first park ranger arrived, they saw Campbell making threatening gestures toward a security guard.
Campbell was then placed in handcuffs, the complaint states.
“While speaking with Campbell, I could detect a strong odor of alcohol coming from him,” a ranger writes in the complaint. “I asked him if he had any alcohol to drink today and he said yes. I asked how much and he said a lot.”
The complaint states the security guard told rangers that he simply asked Campbell to drive more slowly in the area when Campbell flipped him off and threatened to beat him up.
According to the complaint, Campbell was placed in a ranger’s patrol vehicle but he began banging his head against the window, so the ranger sat him down outside the vehicle.
At that point, the complaint states, Campbell began using racial and homophobic slurs toward the security guard and first ranger on the scene.
Eventually, the ranger and Campbell got into a struggle. The complaint states the ranger held him down until backup arrived and Campbell was placed under arrest for disorderly conduct.
When rangers searched Campbell’s vehicle, they reportedly found several empty Twisted Tea bottles, two empty half-gallon jugs of whiskey and several empty marijuana containers.
According to the complaint, Campbell, now back inside a patrol vehicle, began trying to kick out the vehicle’s rear window. Campbell was once again removed from the vehicle and placed in a belly band with leg restraints.
“While we were doing this, (Campbell) would read our nametags repeatedly, state that he would remember our names, find us, blow us away on the side of the road and kill us,” a ranger writes in the complaint. “After the belly band and leg restraints were added, Campbell was placed back into the prisoner compartment of the vehicle. Shortly after this, he began striking his head against the divider again. This time, he injured his nose and it began to bleed.
“We attempted to stop Campbell during this, but he kept smashing his face against the divider.”
At some point, authorities decided Campbell should be taken to a hospital in Livingston, Montana to have his injuries examined.
According to the complaint, rangers secured Campbell to the ambulance gurney with soft restraints and handcuffs.
The complaint states that as Campbell was being transported to the hospital, Campbell once again became combative and he had to be sedated to “prevent him from further injuring himself or others.”
