MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) – Police say a Manchester man took on four police officers during the night, pepper-spraying three of them as they struggled in a downtown park.
It started when an officer noticed a man screaming loudly in Bronstein Park around 10:30. They say 21-year-old Jason Crawford told the officer he was yelling because it was so cold. The officer noticed a bulge in Crawford’s jacket and suspected he had given a fake name. Police say Crawford lunged at the second officer and eventually struggled with four officers who tried to subdue him, slipping out of his shirt and jacket. Police say pepper spray had no effect and when the cannister was knocked from an officer’s hand, Crawford grabbed it, turned it on them and went for a folding pocket knife clipped to his pants.
He eventually was handcuffed.
It turned out Crawford was wanted by police in Derry. He’s now charged with being a felon in possession of a dangerous weapon, assaulting the officers, criminal use of pepper spray, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
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