Man charged with cop assault

STAFF REPORT

AUSTINTOWN — Police arrested a 25-year-old man during a traffic stop after he wrestled with a police officer, who had to use a Taser to subdue him.

Police said that Christopher Koval of Austintown was speeding and swerving on Raccoon Road southbound early Monday when an officer tried to pull him over for the traffic violations.

Koval pulled into the parking lot of his apartment on Raccoon Road and got out of his car, after the officer told him to stay inside.

Koval ran to the door and the officer chased him, telling him to stop and get on the ground. When Koval started to enter the apartment, the officer used his Taser and hit Koval in the left shoulder and hip. Koval wasn’t fazed by the Taser and continued running until the officer tackled him on the sidewalk. The two wrestled, and Koval hit the officer in the face before another police officer arrived to help subdue him.

Koval is charged with assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, possession of dangerous drugs for a prescription not in his name that was found in his pocket, and operating a vehicle under the influence.