ALTOONA, Pa — Altoona police have charged a Penn Hills man for pushing one of their officers into a busy roadway, while the officer was attempting to assist the man, according to a criminal complaint.
Police say 30-year-old Devaughn Taylor faces charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest, according to online court records.
Authorities say on Wednesday afternoon, the officer was stopped in traffic, near the intersection of 16th Street and 10th Avenue, when he noticed Taylor standing near the edge of the busy roadway, without shoes or a shirt.
Police say the officer pulled off the roadway and approached Taylor to see if he needed assistance, at which time Taylor told him that he was waiting for the bus.
The officer told investigators that Taylor had one foot on the roadway and an arm “extended out” into traffic, the complaint states.
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Police say the officer noticed that Taylor had a “hospital lead” still attached to his chest and that “mucus was running from both nostrils.”
Investigators say the officer again offered to assist Taylor in crossing the street and getting to the bus stop safely, at which time Taylor “smiled, lowered his shoulder and rammed into the officer.”
Police say the officer was hit with enough force that he lost his balance and stumbled into the roadway.
The officer then noted that Taylor walked into traffic and began blocking one of the lanes.
Police say when other officers arrived to assist in taking Taylor into custody, he resisting several times and had to be “forcefully” placed in the back of the patrol vehicle.
Taylor is currently being housed at the Blair County Prison, on $100,000 bail, court dockets show, and his preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 22.
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