By Richard Gootee
Evansville Courier & Press
EVANSVILLE — An Evansville man, who reportedly told police he was HIV-positive is accused of splashing his blood on officers and other emergency personnel.
Officers responding to a noise complaint in the 900 block of North First Avenue about 4 a.m. Sunday found Dustin Demoss, 22, yelling at his mother in front of the apartment they share, according to an Evansville Police Department affidavit. Demoss’ mother told police Demoss had just returned from a bar and started throwing her belongings into the street.
When two officers approached Demoss, they noticed he was covered in blood due to an arm wound, according to the report. When police ordered Demoss to put his hands on his head, Demoss told them he was HIV-positive, according to the affidavit. Officers got Demoss to sit on the front porch of his apartment, but then he started rubbing his blood all over his face and body.
As police questioned him, Demoss once again became irritated with officers and started clapping his hands, splattering blood on police, according to the report. When a paramedic arrived to treat Demoss’ wound, he again clapped his hands, which were covered in blood.
After repeated, unheeded demands to calm down from authorities, police eventually Tasered Demoss, and medics administered a sedative to get him under control, according to the report.
Demoss was taken to Deaconess Hospital for treatment. According to the affidavit, a warrant will be issued for his arrest. He faces four preliminary counts of battery of law enforcement using bodily waste, a class C felony, as well as a misdemeanor preliminary charge of disorderly conduct. As of Monday morning he not listed as being in the Vanderburgh County jail.
Reprinted with permission of Evansville Courier & Press