Man bites off part of Denver officer’s finger during arrest

DENVER — A man bit off part of a Denver police officer’s finger during an arrest Saturday afternoon, according to an affidavit. 

Police said around 1 p.m. Saturday, officers were called to a possible domestic violence incident in an alley behind a restaurant in the area of University Boulevard and Wesley Avenue. 

When officers arrived, they saw the man standing over a woman who was sitting on the ground, the affidavit says. The affidavit says the man “was yelling erratically, nonsensically, and irrationally.” A witness had told dispatchers the man “was entirely out of control,” the affidavit says. 

The officers asked the man to come talk with them, but he refused, according to the affidavit. When police tried to contact the woman, the man blocked her from standing up and told officers she could not talk to them, the affidavit says. The man “refused all verbal commands and continued uttering erratic statements,” the affidavit says. 

When the man put his hand over the woman’s mouth, officers grabbed both of his arms, according to the affidavit. He then grabbed a fence, and when officers pulled his hands from the fence, he put his hands toward his waistband, the affidavit says. Officers then took the man to the ground on his stomach. 

The man then turned over onto his back and turned his head toward an officer’s hand. He bit through the officer’s left ring finger between the last knuckle and the fingernail, “completely amputating” that part of the officer’s finger, the affidavit says. He then turned his head and spit the amputated part of the officer’s finger out of his mouth. 

Officers were then able to handcuff the man and take him into custody. Police said he was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault on a peace officer, as well as outstanding warrants for extortion and obstruction.

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