Youngstown man accused of assaulting police officers

AUSTINTOWN – A Youngstown man is accused of assaulting several police officers during a domestic dispute at his home.

Damon Williams, 36, of Brentwood Avenue, is charged with multiple felonies — all of which were transferred Tuesday by the Mahoning County Grand Jury from the Mahoning County Austintown Court — as well as misdemeanor charges.

The offenses include assault on a peace officer, obstruction of police business and possession of drugs. Court records also show a burglary charge was dismissed. The charges are assault and resisting arrest.

An Austintown police report states officers responded to a domestic violence complaint at a home on Main Street. Police found children cleaning up a mess in the kitchen while a man and a woman shouted at each other. Police tried to get the man outside and talk to them, but he told police he had to get his belongings. He grabbed some items while the woman went to her bedroom, the report said. The man then followed her.

According to the report, he made a show of grabbing some personal items before cornering the woman between her bed and the wall. The officer got between them and sent the man outside, the report said.

The report states that the officer tried several times to get the man to sit in a chair before the man stood up, shoved the officer – causing the officer to land on his back, lose his breath and also injure his hip – before running through backyards ran and across Westminster Avenue.

Other officers arrived and chased the man, and the report said they caught him trying to climb a fence along Edgehill Avenue.

The report states that several officers struggled to get the man to the ground and handcuffed, and used an electrical stun at least twice. Police searched him and found a bag in his pocket that appeared to contain drugs and was later confirmed to be cocaine, the report said.

As police took him to the cruiser, the man refused to identify himself and vomited in the street. He was taken to the Mercy Health Austintown emergency room for treatment, according to the report.

The woman told police who the man was and that he was her ex-boyfriend. She said they don’t live together. She told police she picked him up and when they arrived at the house, they started arguing, the report said. She told police the man began pressuring her for money and her car keys, and when she refused, he grabbed a pair of scissors and said he was going to slash her tires.

She told police that a scuffle ensued and she was cut with the scissors, the report said. She then locked the man out. She told police he then pushed an air conditioner out of a bedroom window and climbed through, the report said. She told police he punched her in the face and they fought through the house, the report said.

She said the fighting ended when she threw cold grease on his face and called 911. Teenage children were cleaning up the grease when police arrived, the report said.

The report states that Williams also had active warrants out of Youngstown, Struthers and Boardman.

Williams made his first appearance on the charges on October 23. He remains in the Mahoning County Jail pending the grand jury’s decision.

Court records show that two other indictments against Williams were also assigned to the Canfield grand jury on Monday, where he faces misdemeanor charges of failure to comply and obstruction of police business stemming from an April 16 incident. Charges of reckless driving and failure to maintain marked lanes were dismissed.