PARIS, Maine — A Peru man accused of assaulting a police officer Saturday night was released Monday on bail.
Bert T. Holmquist III, 30, of 1090 Auburn Road, was arrested on charges of assault on an officer and refusing to submit to arrest or detention.
According to an arrest report by Officer Eric Bernier of the Dixfield Police Department, Bernier was stopped at the end of Taylor Road in Dixfield when he saw a car accelerate, causing its tires to spin.
He followed the car and saw Holmquist get out of it. He said he told Holmquist he needed to talk to him, but said Holmquist appeared agitated. Holmquist said he’d lost his identification and didn’t want to speak with Bernier, then went inside a building on High Street.
Bernier wrote that he followed Holmquist inside, drew his Taser and told Holmquist to stop, but Holmquist entered an apartment and locked the door. When Bernier went outside, he said, children in the building told him Holmquist had jumped from a window.
After Bernier dealt with another resident at the building, Holmquist returned. Again, Bernier drew his Taser and told Holmquist to submit to arrest. When Holmquist refused, Bernier used the Taser. One of the probes missed Holmquist, Bernier wrote, and Holmquist charged Bernier and hit him in the face.
Holmquist took Bernier’s glasses and threw them on the ground. Bernier finally pepper-sprayed him.
“Holmquist then complied and was secured in handcuffs,” Bernier wrote.
At the Dixfield Police Department, Bernier flushed the pepper spray from Holmquist’s face with a garden hose and removed the Taser probe.
Holmquist said he had medical issues and needed to go to the hospital. He was transported to Rumford Hospital, cleared and returned to the police station. Afterward he was taken to the Oxford County Jail in Paris.
Holmquist’s bail was set Monday at $200 cash. His arraignment is set for Nov. 6.
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nice guy
Police don’t like to be ignored that way.
His hair makes it look like the probes hit their mark after all.
His hair looks like this after they washed his eyes out with a garden hose. Try it and see what your hair looks like.
Hmmm. My hair lays flat when wet. Looks more like he’s used product to get it spiky. Since his eye area isn’t red and his clothes are dry, this photo was taken nowhere near the time he was sprayed. :)
The only water the PD has comes out of a garden hose?
No, it’s the only water this mutt deserved.
Bounce a billy club of this guys forehead maybe he will pay attention..
I support the Police in keeping our streets safe and for the dangerous job they do…
Now what was the man arrested for again? Not wanting to talk to the police? I didn’t know that was a crime.. So the only crime this man commited was after the police tryed to detain him for no crime.. Was there an original charge prior to being stopped he is being charged with?
If a cop detains you, you have the right to ask the cop if you you are being arrested. If the answer from the cop is “no”, tell the cop you are moving on now. The cop has no right to further detain you outside of the parameters of Terry v Ohio.
You obviously have no clue what you are taking about. Police only need a reasonable suspicion that you just commited a crime, are commiting a crime, or about to commit a crime for them to detain you.
If an officer detains you based on reasonable suspicion of a crime and you tell the cop you are moving on, then you can probably expect things to go down hill fast.
But don’t trust me, you can refer to Terry V Ohio case law from 1968.
Thanks. I have edited my post accordingly.
There must be immediate and continuous pursuit of a person
from the scene of a serious crime; a minor crime does not entitle officers
to enter a home.
This rent a cop equivalent pulled a taser, used pepper spray and “dealt with another resident”. This genius has now created liability for the county and the town over a car “accelerating”.
Reminds me of the movie first blood.
It might have made more sense for this officer to call for back up after the subject eluded him and entered an apartment and then went out a window.
Regardless of why the officer wanted to stop him for motor vehicle violations, he bought trouble when he assaulted the officer. This is an example of why people get shot: the Taser was ineffective in this case, and I believe the officer would have been justified when the subject charged him. I think he is to be commended for using restraint and just spraying this guy. This is a situation that, to me, seems to have been resolved in the best way possible.