York woman bites, kicks officer while resisting arrest

By Shannon Greene - The Herald

A York woman is accused of biting a sheriff's deputy while trying to escape from him.

Karen Christine Kierce, 25, of York Farms Road was charged Friday night with assaulting a police officer while resisting arrest, according to the York County Sheriff's Office.

The 29-year-old deputy was not seriously hurt, although Kierce bit him in his forearm and attacked him multiple times throughout the incident. The bite was checked out, and the deputy was sent home, Lt. Mike Baker said.

Karen Christine Kierce. Courtesy of York County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies were in a neighborhood near Clover responding to a burglary call when they noticed Kierce, who was standing on a porch, matching the description of the burglary suspect. As deputies approached Kierce, she started running toward her car, according to a sheriff's office report.

The deputy pointed a gun, told her to put both hands in the air and then ordered her to the ground. When the deputy tried to arrest her, Kierce began hitting and kicking him. She then threw a handful of gravel at the deputy's chest and face, the report states.

As the struggle continued, the deputy tried to deploy his Taser, which got tangled in his feet. The deputy then tackled Kierce to the ground, but she kicked handcuffs away as he tried to apprehend her. He grabbed her again, pulled her toward him, and she bit him on the arm.

While deputies tried to put her in the patrol car, Kierce kicked the same deputy in the head and chest using both feet. She also kicked another deputy in the chest.

While the deputy tried to tie her feet together, she kicked him in the right ear causing a small cut. Deputies ended up using handcuffs to secure her feet.

The report states Kierce "screamed loudly, cursed profusely and acted drunk and deranged."

Kierce also was charged with criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature.

Her boyfriend told police she hit him over the head with a piece of pottery while he was sleeping and then hit him with her fists. He also said she started to leave in a "fit of rage and destroyed items all over the house."

She was booked at the Moss Justice Center on a $20,000 bond.