Man charged with attempted assault on peace officer | News

A man who was asked to leave a Tumon bar was ultimately stunned by a Taser and charged with a misdemeanor after a dispute with police escalated, according to a magistrate’s complaint filed in Superior Court.

Kevin Patrick McKenzie, 41, was charged Sunday with two counts of attempted assault on a peace officer as a third-degree felony, resisting arrest as a misdemeanor and public intoxication as a misdemeanor.

Police were on routine patrol in Tumon at 1:20 a.m. Sunday when they were called to LYT, a restaurant and bar next to The Westin Resort Guam. An employee said McKenzie paid his bill and received his food, but he refused to leave the establishment, according to the complaint.

While at the bar, McKenzie drank three alcoholic mixed drinks and drank a single shot of alcohol with other patrons, and the complaint described him as appearing “heavily intoxicated.”

McKenzie told police he was on active duty in the Air Force, but police told him he would have to leave or be arrested. He agreed to leave.

Police had to help McKenzie open the door, and they noticed he was stumbling and having trouble keeping his balance. They helped him down the stairs and he sat on a nearby bench. Fearing for his safety, officers asked if they could take him to his home or hotel. When he asked what would happen if he refused, they said he would be arrested for public intoxication.

After further discussion, McKenzie chose to go to the police station with the police. He cooperated and walked to the car without inhibition, according to the complaint.

Once inside the car, McKenzie began kicking the partition, and police told him to stop. At the police station, an officer took McKenzie to a holding cell and told him to “sleep it off,” according to the complaint.

McKenzie began questioning officers, and at one point “suddenly turned around and tried to lunge” at an officer, and when the officer tried to restrain him, “he started waving wildly with both hands,” according to the complaint.

The officer used his Taser on McKenzie, but “the stun appeared ineffective when (McKenzie) pulled out the copper guide wires and then attacked” another officer, the complaint said.

Other officers assisted and McKenzie was placed in hand and leg cuffs.

If convicted of all charges, he could face up to seven years in prison. He was released on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond.