Man sleeping near ATM arrested after scuffle with first responders
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IDAHO FALLS — Police arrested a Utah man sleeping near a covered ATM after he allegedly assaulted police and emergency personal last weekend.
The incident started at about 3:20 a.m. on Nov. 8, after police were dispatched to the Wells Fargo bank on A Street because three people were sleeping in the ATM structure, according to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by EastIdahoNews.com.
Inside the structure, officers found Samuel Brinkerhoff, 21, and a local homeless couple. According to a police report, Brinkerhoff began waking up and did not respond to officers. He reportedly appeared intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.
The officer reported he asked Brinkerhoff to sit down multiple times, but the man wanted to get out of the building. Police said until back-up arrived, he “softly” pushed Brinkerhoff back inside. As Brinkerhoff allegedly became more forceful, the officer then pushed him to the ground.
“He then became more aggressive, trying to push the door open,” the officer wrote in a report. “I blocked the door with my foot to keep him contained until another officer arrived.”
This did not stop Brinkerhoff. According to court documents, the man kept trying to force the door open with the officer standing in the way. The officer said he kept telling Brinkerhoff to stop and sit down before things escalated.
“To prevent him from getting out, potentially causing harm to me, himself and others, I removed my expandable baton,” the officer wrote in his report. “When he pushed the door out onto me, I struck him in the wrist/forearm area with my baton. I did this a few times until he eventually stopped holding onto and shoving the door.”
While using the baton, the officer reports he accidentally damaged the glass of the ATM structure.
Additional officers arrived and helped place Brinkerhoff into handcuffs. Idaho Falls Fire Department arrived and as EMS began checking him out, police report Brinkerhoff started yelling and spitting. Officers report they then placed a spit mask over his head.
Police and EMS took him to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center for medical clearance before taking him to the Bonneville County Jail. Officers report Brinkerhoff yelled almost entire time and would not calm down.
Emergency room staff determined Brinkerhoff had no serious injuries from the scuffle.
The fighting did not stop there. Brinkerhoff is alleged to have resisted jail staff and they had to take him to the ground and place him into a holding cell to calm down.
Brinkerhoff is charged with felony assault and battery upon certain personal and misdemeanor resisting arrest. Certain personnel includes police and other first responders. He remains held in jail on $10,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 18 at the Bonneville County Courthouse.
While Brinkerhoff is charged with a crime, it does not necessarily mean he committed it. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.