Headbutting man shatters patrol car window

APD arrests Joshua Garrison on multiple charges

Humboldt Sentinel staff
8/23/09

Arcata

A bar fight on the Arcata Plaza got out of hand early Saturday morning, with multiple police agencies called to control an unruly crowd while Arcata Police Department officers dealt with an alleged drunk who damaged their patrol car.

At about 1:30 a.m. an APD foot patrol responded to a fight at Everett's bar on Ninth Street, where they found bouncers separating several fighting men. One of them, 23-year-old Joshua Garrison of McKinleyville, was removed from the bar because he had been striking others with his head.

While police attempted to take him into custody for disorderly conduct and public intoxication, Garrison continued to behave in an aggressive manner, according to a release from APD sergeant Dave Brown. While he was escorted to a patrol car for transport to the county jail, he struggled with officers and in the melee he purposefully struck the patrol car's rear window with his head, shattering it. Garrison sustained injuries which required the assistance of Arcata Ambulance.

While the struggle continued, a crowd formed around the patrol car, and APD obtained backup from the Humboldt State University Police Department, the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office and the California Highway Patrol to maintain crowd control.

Garrison was eventually subdued and, after first-aid medical treatment, he was transported to Eureka and booked on public intoxication, resisting arrest and felony vandalism charges. He remains in custody in county jail.