Police: Armed man bites Atwater officer
A man armed with a gun bit an Atwater police officer late Monday during a confrontation at a convenience store on Shaffer Road, according to police.
John Grissom, 42, bit Officer David Walker on his upper arm following the arrest just before 10 p.m. at the Circle K at 1021 Shaffer Road, Atwater police reported.
Walker suffered swelling and redness, but it was unclear if the skin was broken or if Walker would miss any work as a result of the injury, Lt. Samuel Joseph told the Sun-Star.
Grissom allegedly assaulted a store customer and then brandished a 9 mm Ruger pistol inside the store, police said.
Officers surrounded the area and eventually located Grissom, who, police said, was confrontational with the officers and held his arms above his head, yelling “Shoot me” several times. Police could see the Ruger hanging out of Grissom’s right front pocket, but he did not touch the weapon during the incident, Joseph said.
Officer Jason DaSilva fired a stun gun at Grissom, but the weapon’s probes were blocked by Grissom’s leather jacket. Grissom eventually got down on his knees and was taken into custody after a struggle with police.
“Found on his person was a loaded 9 mm Ruger pistol with a high-capacity magazine, loose ammunition and metal knuckles,” Joseph said. “After Grissom was placed into handcuffs, he made criminal threats toward several of the officers.”
Grissom then allegedly bit Walker just before entering the Merced County Jail. Grissom was booked on suspicion of assaulting a peace officer and making criminal threats, among other allegations. He posted bail and was released Tuesday, according to booking records.
Police do not believe drugs or alcohol were involved in the incident.
Joseph praised the officers for resolving the incident and preventing injuries to the public. “He would likely have seriously hurt someone,” Joseph said. “The officers did an excellent job detaining him with (minimum) force.”
Joseph said confrontations involving police and the public have been on the rise recently. Atwater police have deployed stun guns numerous times in recent weeks, including Sunday in the parking lot of bar on Bellevue Road and Dec. 9 on Fairway Drive after a man allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at officers.
Atwater police also said a crowd of people interfered with an investigation Dec. 10 after a vehicle pursuit ended in Merced.
This story was originally published December 16, 2014 at 2:34 PM with the headline "Police: Armed man bites Atwater officer."