Trooper bloodied when traffic stop turns violent

PALMER — A traffic stop for failing to signal a turn ended with an Alaska State Trooper’s hand bloodied and his vest pocket ripped.

According to a document Trooper Christopher Havens filed in court, the attempted traffic stop began at 2:11 a.m., Sunday on Beaver Avenue. The car was a 1984 Mercedes-Benz, license plate PIBENZ. In addition to not signaling a turn and some “equipment violations,” Havens had reason to suspect the driver shouldn’t be driving.

“Approximately eight months prior, I issued the driver of the same vehicle a misdemeanor citation for driving while license suspended,” Havens writes.

The Benz pulled into a parking lot on Beaver just as Havens flipped on his emergency lights. The driver, Patrick Gonzalez, 42, got out and started walking away.

“I contacted the driver and asked him to have a seat back in his vehicle,” Havens writes.

During a pat-down search, Gonzalez became agitated, Havens writes. When he tried to push Havens away, the trooper put him on the ground.

“I was on top of Gonzalez when he attempted to strike my face with his hand. He grabbed towards my face and neck, I used hard-hand techniques and struck Gonzalez once in the face,” Havens writes.

Eventually, Gonzalez scratched Havens’ hand, which started bleeding.

“He rolled over and attempted to get on top of me during the struggle. Gonzalez grabbed my external vest pocket and pulled, ripping it. He caused extensive damage to the stitching and zipper,” Havens writes.

That’s when the stun gun came out.

“Gonzalez continued to struggle and was Tased in the stomach for approximately eight seconds. Gonzalez stopped resisting and complied with verbal orders after being Tased,” Havens writes.

He writes that Gonzalez admitted he was intoxicated and had consumed eight beers, but refused to blow into a Breathalyzer. His license was also suspended and he had a date scheduled to remand to jail to serve 10 days on a suspended license charge.

New charges levied against him Sunday include assault, driving on a revoked license, drunken driving, criminal mischief and refusing a breath test. His bail was set at $3,000 and he was ordered to find a third party to watch him before he can be released. As of Monday afternoon he was still incarcerated at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270 or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.