By Ryan Yousefi
A man was arrested and charged with battery on a law enforcement officer following a violent attack on a Coral Springs police officer.
On March 7 the Coral Springs Police Department received a report of a man, later identified as Paul Anthony Acevedo, 37, of Coral Springs, sleeping next to an air conditioning unit outside of the First Methodist Church located at 8605 West Sample Road.
According to the police report, officers were dispatched to the church and upon arrival, found Acevedo sleeping on the north side of the building where children were being dropped off for the preschool located within the church.
The report states officers informed Acevedo that he needed to gather his belongings and depart the premises, as he was trespassing on the property. However, Acevedo became irate and stated that he was not leaving until he fought with the officers.
The arrest report shows the situation quickly escalated, with Acevedo dropping his belongings and approaching the officers in an aggressive manner with his fists clenched.
In an attempt to protect themselves, the report shows officers grabbed Acevedo’s arm and tripped him to the ground, however, Acevedo continued to resist their attempts to take him into custody and refused to put his hands behind his back.
The report shows at one point during the struggle Acevedo was able to mount an officer and began striking an officer in the torso. The officer wrote in the report that he was eventually able to gain back control and take Acevedo into custody.
Acevedo was transported to the hospital for medical clearance before being transferred to the Broward Sheriff’s Office Main Jail.
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