WATERVILLE — Three Norridgewock men who were arrested after authorities say they assaulted police officers following a traffic stop early Wednesday are scheduled to face those charges in court in January.
Bruce Obert, 69, was charged with refusing to submit to arrest or detention, assault and failing to stop for an officer, and his son, Jeffrey Obert, 41, and Steven Kirkwood, 33, each were charged with assault and obstructing government administration, according to Waterville police Maj. Jason Longley.
The series of events leading to the arrests started around 3:15 a.m. Wednesday when Waterville police Officer Joshua Madeiros stopped a vehicle Jeffrey Obert was driving on upper Main Street, Longley said Thursday. Kirkwood was a passenger in the vehicle.
“He had observed a number of traffic violations,” Longley said of Madeiros.
During the stop, police Sgt. Tanya Allen arrived to assist Madeiros when a Ford pickup driven by Bruce Obert stopped and he started yelling at the officers to let his son and Kirkwood go because they were late for work, according to Longley. Bruce Obert owns a contracting business and was working in the area with his son and Kirkwood, Longley said.
“He then jumped the median, crossed over into the opposite lane and the truck pulled into the parking lot of the Fireside Inn,” Longley said of Bruce Obert.
Allen turned her cruiser around and activated the blue lights and siren because Bruce Obert had violated traffic rules by doing so, and she pursued Bruce Obert as he drove the pickup away from the scene, he said.
“He refused to stop, traveled all the way down Waterville Commons Drive, out around Walmart and then he finally did come to a stop right behind Walmart,” Longley said. “She (Allen) pulled up next to him. As soon as she got out of the police cruiser, he attacked her.”
Meanwhile, Madeiros had issued Jeffrey Obert a warning and cleared the earlier traffic stop on Main Street and Madeiros headed to the back of Walmart where he saw Bruce Obert assaulting Allen, Longley said. Then Jeffrey Obert and Kirkwood arrived and also started assaulting Madeiros and Allen, he said. The officers pepper-sprayed the men, he said.
“After that brief struggle, Officer Madeiros and Sgt. Allen were able to take all three into custody,” he said.
Two other police officers were dispatched to the scene but were at the other end of the city at the time, Longley said. They arrived after the Oberts and Kirkwood were in custody, he said.
Madeiros and Allen suffered bumps and bruises in the incident but did not seek medical attention, according to Longley.
Bruce Obert bonded out from the police station on $500 cash and Jeffrey Obert and Kirkwood each were released on $250 cash bond, he said.
All three are scheduled to appear in Waterville District Court on Jan. 2.
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