By Police1 Staff
KINGSPORT, Tenn. — A uniformed K-9 handler in a marked patrol vehicle was targeted in an unprovoked attack by a restaurant employee, according to a department press release.
The officer had parked beside another vehicle with his family to have a brief conversation. A man approached the passenger’s side of the family’s vehicle and began slapping the window. The officer instructed the family to lock their doors and drive away.
The man, identified as Amid K. Tatchi, was wearing an Olive Garden shirt and began to walk away. The officer ordered Tatchi to stop, but the suspect refused while shouting profanity. Because Tatchi was getting aggressive, the officer summoned his K-9. When Tatchi saw the K-9, he told the officer, “I will (expletive) kill it, you little (expletive).”
Tatchi continued to ignore commands and went back inside the restaurant. After the officer called for backup, Tatchi was arrested after a brief struggle.
“The sole reason Mr. Tatchi sought out, targeted, and terrorized this officer, and subsequently his family, was because of his preconceived hatred of police officers,” the department wrote in the release.
Tatchi was charged with Disorderly Conduct and Resisting a Stop, Frisk or halt. The restaurant has launched an internal investigation into the employee’s conduct.