Olympia man allegedly attacks police after exposing himself in public

An Olympia man was charged with a felony after allegedly attacking police who responded to complaints about him masturbating and relieving himself in public.

The man, 24, was charged with third-degree assault by the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney on July 13.

Olympia police arrested the man on July 11 after a caller reported that a man was exposing himself on the 2600 block of Martin Way E.

The reporting party initially said that the man had his pants pulled all the way down. She then provided updates indicating that the suspect had started to defecate and, later on, masturbate.

A responding officer noted that, as he was walking toward the man, the suspect “had his other hand inside his shorts moving about, rapidly masturbating.” The suspect would later tell the officer that he was just “scratching [his] balls.”

The officer ordered the man to sit on the ground, but the suspect said he did nothing wrong. The man began to pull up his pants and put on his shoes, but the officer again told him that he was under arrest for disorderly/lewd conduct and could not leave.

The suspect became upset and told the officer that he had better call his partner. When he was ordered to put his hands behind his back, The man said “No” and turned to the officer “as if throwing a punch,” the police report stated.

A physical struggle broke out among the man and two officers. One officer noted that, during the scuffle, the man attempted to grab some equipment that the other officer had dropped on the ground, including a handheld radio-microphone.

Other officers later arrived at the scene and placed the man into a restraint system. The suspect continued to say that he would not comply, police said.

The man was booked into the Thurston County Jail for third-degree assault.