MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) –An “emotionally disturbed” person bit a Minneapolis police officer Tuesday evening when he was responding to a welfare check on the city’s south side, authorities said in a press conference.
Two officers on the Crisis Intervention Team conducted the welfare check in the 2400 block of 10th Avenue South just before 6 p.m.
A police statement said that as soon as the officers entered the house, 54-year-old James Dawkins attacked them.
During the fight, an officer lost a finger on his left hand, a source told WCCO-TV.
A Taser and several officers were then needed to the subdue Dawkins, the statement said.
Both Dawkins and the officer were then taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center for treatment.
After Dawkins was treated, officers arrested him and booked him into the Hennepin County Jail on probable cause assault charges.
The wounded officer’s name was not released Tuesday, but police said he has more than 10 years of law enforcement experience.
