Crime & Safety

Man Who Attacked Salem Police Held on $35K Bail

A judge has ordered a local man be held on high bail after a violent roadside encounter in which the man stabbed a police officer with a key.

A district court judge has ordered a Salem man be held on high bail in connection to violent roadside encounter in which the man stabbed a police officer with a key.

Randy Brown, 47, was arraigned on numerous charges during a Salem District Court video arraignment on Wednesday, including two Class B felony counts of simple assault, a Class A misdemeanor count of resisting arrest, and a Class A misdemeanor count of driving after revocation or suspension for driving while intoxicated.

Court staff said Thursday that a judge set Brown's cash-only bail at $35,000. No additional court appearances had been scheduled for Brown as of Thursday afternoon.

Salem police stopped Brown for reckless driving near 109 South Broadway around 9:05 p.m. Tuesday. 

Brown allegedly told the officer who stopped him that his license had been revoked for driving while intoxicated, and Brown allegedly refused to exit his vehicle after the officer requested he do so, according to Deputy Police Chief Shawn Patten.

Another officer arrived on the scene, and together the two officers tried to remove Brown after they were unable to convince the man to exit his vehicle.

Patten said that's when Brown, listed at 6-feet, 4-inches tall and weighing 240 pounds, "began actively fighting the officers," successfully stabbing one of the officers in the hand with his keys before continuing to try to and stab and punch both officers.

Officers used a Taser to subdue Brown, although he allegedly remained "combative and repeatedly spat at the officers" after he was taken into custody, according to Patten.

Brown refused bail and was transported the Rockingham County House of Corrections.

The officers were treated on the scene for cuts and scrapes, and the officer stabbed in the hand required medical attention and a tetanus shot at a local hospital.


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