HURRICANE – A Hurricane City Police officer had to use his emergency lights to transport an arrestee to the county jail Friday night after the man became combative and attempted to break out the windows of the patrol car.

A LaVerkin man was driving in Hurricane and came to the intersection of 3400 West and State Street, Hurricane City Police Sgt. Brandon Buell said. For a reason unknown as this report is published, the man’s vehicle rolled backward and struck the vehicle behind it. He then left the scene of the accident, Buell said, but was later stopped by an officer.

“(The man) was driving very erratically, going in and out of the travel lane,” Buell said.

The officer who pulled the man over found probable cause that he had been driving under the influence of alcohol and placed him under arrest.

“As this person was being transported to the jail, he did become belligerent,” Buell said.

En route to the jail, the man began trying to break out the windows of the police car, Buell said. Initial reports suggested he was attempting to kick out the windows, but, at the time of this publication, Buell said he could not confirm the precise way in which the man was attempting to break the windows.

The arresting officer said the man’s behavior became so extreme he had to turn on his emergency lights to get to the jail as quickly as possible and “prevent anything further happening,” Buell said.

The man was booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility. As this report is published, his charges are listed as one class B misdemeanor for DUI and a class C misdemeanor for driving with an open container of alcohol in his vehicle.

Buell said he doesn’t know at this time whether additional charges will be filed relating to the man’s behavior in the police vehicle, and it is not known whether charges will be brought regarding the alleged earlier collision with another vehicle.

The arresting officer was not injured in any way during the incident.

This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement 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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