By Mark Morey
Yakima Herald-Republic
WAPATO, Wash. — Wapato’s police chief is having to endure a few good-natured jokes after getting a black eye on the job.
Chief Rick Needham says a homeless man hit him in the eye and spit on him after the chief responded to a report Monday that the man was lying apparently unconscious near West Fifth Street and South Wapato Avenue.
Needham spends most of his time in the office, but a public works employee rushed into the police station to report the incident shortly before 5 p.m., so Needham responded.
According to an arrest report filed in Yakima County Superior Court, the 21-year-old man became increasingly aggressive, including spitting at people standing nearby on the sidewalk.
Needham said he was concerned because the man had a cut on the wrist, possible stab wounds to the shoulder and blood coming from his head.
When the man stood up, the chief moved in to escort him back to the ground, according to the report.
But the suspect was able to get off a punch, Needham said, as well as spitting in the chief’s eye.
“After 33 years of this stuff, you’d think I would be able to duck a punch,” Needham joked.
He was back on the job Tuesday and headed for a doctor’s appointment to check on the black eye.
“I’ve had worse,” he said.
After being checked at a local hospital, the arrested man was booked at the county jail on suspicion of third-degree assault. His bail was set at $2,000.
Police say they suspect, based in part on his injuries, that he may have been the same person who broke the window on a car at the International Market on West First Street. That incident was reported shortly before the call about the unresponsive man.
It’s not clear what led to his unusual behavior at the scene.
Copyright 2016 Yakima Herald-Republic