Marion County sheriff’s deputies tasered and arrested an Ocala man Monday night after he attacked them.
Deputies responded to a home on SW 106th Place after receiving a call about a verbal disturbance and a vehicle possibly crashing into a home with a juvenile in the residence. Marion County Fire Rescue arrived on scene first and confirmed that there was no vehicle crash, so deputies made contact with 38-year-old David Paul Barker at the residence, a sheriff’s office report states.
Barker refused to cooperate with deputies and wanted them to leave, but they advised him that they weren’t going anywhere until they spoke to the juvenile that possibly had been involved in the earlier incident. At first, the report says, Barker was resistant to that request but then called for the juvenile, who appeared to be in good health, the report says.
A short time later, a woman arrived back at the house and was speaking with deputies when Barker tried to argue with her. A deputy explained to Barker that he was finished speaking with him and he could go back inside his residence. The deputy then walked down the driveway to speak with the woman, the report says.
But Barker came back out of the house, walked directly in front of the deputy and punched him in the left side of his face, the report says, adding that another deputy also was struck in the face while trying to gain control of Barker and get him in handcuffs.
Barker hit the other deputy several more times and told the woman he “was going to kill” her before another deputy used his taser twice to get control of him. Barker was then secured in the back of a patrol car but complained that his handcuffs were too tight.
As a deputy attempted to check the handcuffs, Barker jumped out of the patrol car and ran. After a brief struggle, he was taken into custody and again placed in the back of a patrol car.
The woman told deputies that she was in fear of Barker as they tried to get him into handcuffs and felt he possibly could have carried out his threat to kill her if he had gotten free and obtained one of their weapons, the report says.
One of the deputies suffered several injuries to his face, including a swollen bottom lip, blood in his mouth and left nostril and a red mark and swelling on the bridge of his nose. The other deputy had an injury to his left forehead, as well as scraps to both elbows and knees and a hole in the left leg of his uniform pants, the report says.
Barker was booked into the Marion County Jail at 8:44 p.m. Monday and charged with two counts of battery on a police officer, resisting arrest with violence, simple assault (intent or threat to do violence) and escaping from a law enforcement officer. He was held on no bond on the escape charge and $25,000 bond on the other four and is scheduled to appear in a Marion County courtroom on Oct. 2 at 9 a.m. to answer to the charges.
