A Kirkland man was charged Monday with assaulting a Kirkland police officer after kicking the officer in the face.
The assault occurred in connection with Jonathan A. Stevenson’s arrest in 2011.
Stevenson, 21, and a female were contacted on the north side of Kirkland’s Fire Station 22, after a firefighter called police to report hearing footsteps on the roof at midnight on June 30, 2011. Stevenson and the female initially gave false names to police.
The reporting firefighter initially told the responding officer that he found a new black “tagging” symbol spray painted on one of the fire station doors. The fire crew had returned from a call nearly an hour-and-a-half earlier and did not see the symbol.
The officer observed that the paint was “extremely fresh.” More spray painting was also found on another door, a window, on the roof, a fence line and on the garbage dumpster in the parking lot. In all, six different sites were identified to be freshly tagged. Spray cans were found around and on the two suspects.
When an officer began to frisk Stevenson he took off running between two patrol cars in the front parking lot, according to charging documents. An officer eventually caught up with the man, tackling him to the ground before he could get to the street. Stevenson continued to resist arrest and fought to get free.
Another officer arrived on scene to assist with the arrest. Ultimately, the man had to be tasered in order for the officers to handcuff him. Even after the suspect was in cuffs he kept fighting the officers, “violently” kicking one of them in the face, causing a laceration on the bridge of the officer’s nose, the charges continue. The man was also found to have two empty beer cans and alcohol on his breath.
Stevenson was arrested for third-degree felony assault, third-degree malicious mischief, providing a false or misleading statement, resisting arrest and minor in possession of alcohol.
Stevenson was not found to have any criminal convictions prior to the incident.
The cost to the City of Kirkland to clean up the spray paint was just over $200.
Stevenson is not being held in jail and his arraignment is pending.
