Tyron Brooks (Denver Police Department)
A 48-year-old man in Colorado allegedly bit off a police officer’s finger and spit it back out as authorities were attempting to arrest him over the weekend.
Tyron Brooks was taken into custody on Saturday and charged with one count of felony second-degree assault on a police officer, authorities confirmed to Law&Crime.
Brooks was also charged on outstanding warrants for extortion and obstructing police.
According to a copy of the probable cause affidavit obtained by Denver Fox affiliate KDVR, officers with the Denver Police Department responded to an alley at about 1 p.m. on Saturday behind The Pioneer Bar in the 2400 block of South University Boulevard near East Wesley Avenue about a domestic violence incident.
Once there, first responders said they observed a man — later identified as Brooks — who was in a “fight stance” and yelling at a “terrified” woman who appeared to be “paralyzed with fear,” police wrote, the Sacramento Bee reported. When police attempted to step in and speak to the woman, Brooks allegedly told them she “could not talk to them.”
Officers then tried to call the victim over so they could speak to her, but Brooks allegedly would not allow that to happen, Denver CBS affiliate KCNC reported. When they asked if she needed assistance, Brooks reportedly forcefully placed his hand over her mouth to prevent her from responding.
The officers then decided they had to detain Brooks for the safety of the woman and tried to place him under arrest.
The officers reportedly moved in on Brooks and brought him down to the floor face down. He allegedly resisted and was able to flip onto his back. At that point, he allegedly turned toward one of the arresting officers and “opened his mouth,” then “intentionally bit through [the officer’s] left ring finger between the last knuckle and the fingernail completely amputating the distal portion of the officer’s finger,” police wrote in the affidavit. He then allegedly “turned his head and spit the amputated portion of [the officer’s] finger out of his mouth.”
Following the oral amputation of the officer’s finger, police were able to get Brooks under control and place him under arrest. The officer was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was treated and released, KCNC reported.
Police said Brooks was “not cooperative with the investigation” and taken to the Downtown Detention Center, where he was booked.
In addition to the assault charge, records show that Brooks was also charged with two counts of disturbing the peace and one count of threats to injure a person or property.
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