EUGENE, Ore. – Eugene police arrested a man on several charges, including bias crime, after he attacked a city employee and officers at Alton Baker Park on Thursday morning, according to the Eugene Police Department.
EPD officials said police were called to help a city of Eugene employee who had asked someone camping in the park to gather their belongings and leave. Camping or littering in the park is against the city’s Parks and Open Spaces rules. The person, identified as Taylor Williams, had 18 yards of debris in his large campsite set up in the park along the river, just west of Interstate 5. Williams became hostile when asked to leave and grabbed and pushed the employee, who feared for his safety and called police. Officers contacted Williams, but he remained hostile and actively resisted arrest. He attempted to bite an officer and reached toward his pocket during a struggle. That pocket was later found to contain a pocket knife.
Williams was eventually told he would be tased if he did not comply, so he complied with being handcuffed. Williams then refused to walk to the patrol car and told officers they would have to carry him, police said. Authorities said that Williams was eventually placed in a patrol car, but kicked at one of the officers and yelled profanities, racial slurs and derogatory terms at the officers while spitting. He was caught at the Lane County Jail on charges of bias crime, criminal mischief, violation of park rules, resisting arrest and two warrants…