Ephrata man sentenced for assaulting officer

EPHRATA — An Ephrata man was sentenced for assaulting an Ephrata Police Department officer in a scuffle in 2015.

John Rangel, 32, pleaded guilty to third-degree assault. Grant County Superior Court Judge David Estudillo followed a joint recommendation between Deputy Prosecutor Kevin McCrae and defense attorney Tyson Lang and sentenced Rangel to eight months of confinement. A charge of second-degree assault was dropped in a plea agreement between McCrae and Lang.

On Dec. 8, 2015 the Ephrata Police Department received a report of a man, Rangel, causing a disturbance and walking in the middle of Basin Street. Reports indicate Rangel was walking in the center turn lane of Basin Street with vehicles traveling around him when he was initially spotted by police. A EPD officer approached Rangel and told him to get out of the middle of the road Rangel told the officer to shoot him. Rangel eventually put his hands behind his back and the officer grabbed his left thumb and bent it toward his left wrist in an attempt to gain compliance. Rangel then started resisting.

Rangel was unphased by the tactic and the officer drew his Taser. Rangel immediately started to run away from the officer, but the officer was able to catch up to him after a short sprint. Because of the clothing Rangel was wearing, the officer determined a Taser would likely not be effective.

The officer instead attempted to gain control over Rangel, but the suspect continued to resist. The Taser was ultimately deployed, but it reportedly did not have an effect on Rangel. Rangel, who outweighed the officer by 30 pounds, rushed at the officer and grabbed onto his left lower torso. As the scuffle continued, the officer fell onto the ground and Rangel continued to grapple with his upper body, using his body to position himself behind the officer.

“I attempted to roll away from Rangel on the asphalt, however I felt Rangel use his arms to hold me into his upper torso. I attempted to use my left elbow to strike Rangel several times and this immediately proved ineffective. Rangel then managed to use his left leg to attempt to collapse my left leg. Simultaneously, Rangel suddenly pressed an arm across my neck area,” wrote the officer. “I felt Rangel forcefully pressing down across my jawline and part of my neck attempting to strangle me.”

Another EPD officer and Soap Lake Police Department officer arrived at the scene to help the officer gain control over Rangel. Three helpful residents helped the officers place Rangel into restraints.

“I observed it took three commissioned law enforcement officers including myself, and approximately three adult civilians using our body weight simultaneously, to restain Rangel to the ground despite being in restraints,” wrote the officer.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.