Woman sprays officer with bear spray as she tries to flee, California police say
.jpg "A California woman sprayed a police officer with bear spray before fleeing on foot, the Redding Police Department said.")
A California woman was arrested after she was accused of spraying a police officer with bear spray, the Redding Police Department said in a news release.
Police responded to reports of the woman walking around in a Redding neighborhood at around 3:15 a.m. on June 25, the release said.
When police approached the 29-year-old woman, she gave them a fake name and sprayed an officer in the face with bear spray from a canister, the release said. She fled the scene on foot, but was soon captured by an officer.
The woman continued to resist arrest, but was eventually handcuffed by police and detained. Neither the woman nor the officer needed medical attention after the incident, the release said.
After transporting her to the Shasta County Jail, police determined the woman’s real name and found that there was an active felony warrant for her arrest, the release said. She was booked on charges of illegal possession or use of tear gas by a felon, assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest, possessing drug paraphernalia and having an active warrant, the release said.
According to jail records, the woman is being held on a $135,000 bail.
Bear spray is about 3 times as potent as pepper spray and tends to be dispensed from a canister more widely and forcefully than pepper spray, The Washington Post has reported.
This story was originally published June 27, 2022 at 7:47 PM with the headline "Woman sprays officer with bear spray as she tries to flee, California police say."