SEATTLE — A 34-year-old man was charged with second-degree assault and third-degree malicious mischief, accused of knocking down and injuring a man who was trying to buy lunch on Westlake Avenue and then using the back seat of a Seattle police car as a toilet, charging documents said.
According to the Seattle police case investigation report, officers were called to the 2200 block of Westlake Avenue in downtown Seattle on May 20 for a report of a possible assault.
On the way to the scene, officers were given multiple updates by dispatchers who said a man was screaming, had taken his shirt off and put it back on, was salivating and had knocked down several passersby, documents said.
Police said when they arrived, they found the suspect, identified as Michael Jason Stewart, rooting around in a trash bin.
The police report said when Stewart noticed officers coming toward him, he ran away and boarded a Metro bus.
Officers said they removed him from the bus and tried to speak with him, but he ran away.
Scroll down to continue reading
More news from KIRO 7
- Woman attacked on South Sound trail
- WSP: Suspects selling fake gold on freeways
- Seattle could ban building big houses with new ordinance
- Man suspected in arson at Bellevue home
- Do you have an investigative story tip? Send us an email at investigate@kiro7.com
Stewart was stopped after a short chase, put into handcuffs and taken to a patrol car, officers said. Along the way, he tried to kick officers, according to the police report.
Once in the back of the police cruiser, he began to repeatedly butt his head against the interior, causing a cut on his forehead that covered the back of the patrol vehicle with blood, documents said.
Police said Stewart was able to slip his handcuffed hands from the back to the front and pull down his pants. Once his pants were down, he defecated and urinated in the back seat, officers said.
At that point, he was removed from the car and taken to Harborview Medical Center to be treated.
Two days later, police spoke with a man who said he was one of the victims who had been pushed down to the ground by Stewart. The victim said he had been trying to buy lunch on Westlake Avenue on the 20th and when he was pushed to the ground so forcefully by Stewart that it caused a fracture in his elbow.
Charging documents said the incident happened less than 72 hours after Stewart had been released from jail after an assault conviction.
Records show Stewart has a criminal history in Washington State dating back to 2016 but is a multi-state offender with arrests in Arizona, Kentucky and California.
Police said Stewart has had seven assault convictions within the last three years.
Cox Media Group
