Oct. 27--A Kansas City man remains in jail in Maryville, Mo., after allegedly attempting to cause serious harm to several Maryville Public Safety officers and a bystander.
Andrew D. Griffin, 19, faces two felonies of attempting to assault a law enforcement officer and another felony of assault after police attempted to arrest him when they were breaking up a post-Northwest Missouri State University homecoming party on October 23.
According to court records, Maryville police officers were responding to a disturbance at about 2 a.m. at the 1200 block of East First Street in Maryville, when they spotted Mr. Griffin attempting to leave the parking lot, while also revving the engine of his 2003 Ford Taurus. Attempting to get Mr. Griffin's attention, Sgt. Rex Riley shined a flashlight at Mr. Griffin, resulting in him revving his engine again before driving it directly at Mr. Riley.
The vehicle struck Mr. Riley in the shins, and the officer was thrown onto the hood and windshield of the car before it also struck a bystander, Justin White. As Mr. Griffin continued to move the vehicle forward, officer Seth Rucker pulled out his firearm and directed it at the suspect. Ignoring the motion, Mr. Griffin allegedly struck Mr. Rucker with the vehicle, at which time the officer fired the gun.
Unharmed by the gun's discharge, Mr. Griffin fled the scene, causing a pursuit that resulted in his arrest shortly after the incident.
Mr. Rucker and Mr. Riley were both taken by ambulance to St. Francis Hospital in Maryville, while Mr. White was taken to Heartland Regional Medical Center in St. Joseph. All three were treated for bruises and were released.
The incident was the second injury to Mr. Rucker in a matter of months. In April, he was sent to the hospital after his vehicle collided with another officer's vehicle during the chase of a man who allegedly beat an elderly Cameron couple and stole their SUV.
Mr. Griffin is scheduled for an arraignment in Nodaway County Circuit Court on Nov. 1 in front of Judge Glen Dietrich. He is currently being held on $100,000 bond. According to Missouri court files, these are the first charges Mr. Griffin has faced in court.
Andrew Gaug can be reached at [email protected].
Copyright 2011 - St. Joseph News-Press, Mo.
