DUBOIS – A DuBois man accused of fighting with police during a routine encounter waived his right to a preliminary hearing Friday during centralized court.
Kyle Bradley Smith, 33, is charged with aggravated assault on an officer, simple assault and driving under the influence as the result of his actions on Dec. 9 in Sandy Township.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, officers responded at 10:13 p.m., to a report that a vehicle was off the roadway on Blinker Parkway.
When they arrived, a man was sitting on the ground next to the vehicle which was stuck in a ditch.
He told them he was not injured but he was not able to provide them with his driver’s license as he could not find it in his wallet. The man handed his wallet to one of the officers who was able to locate the license, which identified the man as Smith.
After he was asked where he was traveling, he said he was not going anywhere.
One of the officers then directed him to a flat area for a field sobriety test.
Reportedly he failed after stumbling in the walk and turn test. Smith said he it was cold and he didn’t want to do any additional tests.
He was then placed under arrest, which Smith protested, but the officers were able to get him in handcuffs and walk him to the patrol vehicle.
He resisted having to sit in the back and would not cooperate, so he was pushed into the rear of the vehicle, police said.
While waiting for a tow truck to take Smith’s vehicle, Smith allegedly started spitting in the car and was told to stop.
Because of the locally-spiking COVID-19 numbers, the officers were concerned about contamination not only to them, but also to anyone else that may be put into the back seat of their vehicle.
In an effort to stop him, one of the officers opened the rear door and advised Smith again to stop spitting.
After this, Smith reportedly spit directly into the officer’s face, causing the officer to further restrain Smith. The second officer also got out of the vehicle and attempted to restrain Smith’s head so he could not spit on them.
During the scuffle, Smith kicked one of the officers in the chest, according to the report.
A mask was placed on Smith and emergency medical personnel were contacted due to Smith bleeding from the mouth.
He was transported to Penn Highlands DuBois both for treatment and a blood test, which he refused.
Smith is free on $25,000, unsecured bail.