25-year-old Nathanial Hoffman was standing in the middle of Broadway just after 2 a.m. Saturday as officers were re-opening the roadway to vehicular traffic. Officer Dean Ferrari advised Hoffman to return to the sidewalk three times, each of which he refused. The officer noted that Hoffman was visibly intoxicated and was slightly unsteady on his feet. Hoffman then looked at the officer, who had his passenger side window down, extended his middle finger, and screamed, “fuck you!” The officer exited his patrol car and attempted to assist Hoffman to the sidewalk. He was then given the opportunity to go home or be placed under arrest for public intoxication. He once again told the officer to go fuck himself and stated he could “do whatever the fuck I want.”
The officer then decided to place Hoffman into custody, but Hoffman had other plans. As the officer attempted to gain control of Hoffman’s hands, Hoffman simply grabbed his wrist and pushed him away, then shoved him away again. The officer then admits he was unable to control him as long as he was on his feet, so he wrapped his arms around him to take him to the ground. He fell on top of Hoffman, who continued to push the officer away from him “as if he had grappling experience,” according to the report. Eventually, the officer “fully mounted” Hoffman and held his wrist to the concrete until backup officers arrived. Once multiple officers restrained Hoffman, he pulled away, causing all of them to fall to the ground, where he was held and hobbled after an extensive struggle. He reportedly damaged the patrol car as he was being forced into it.