Salem man threatens to beat up cop at Tinseltown

Staff report

BOARDMAN

A Salem man faces numerous criminal charges after police said he asked someone to take a shot of liquor in a movie-theater restroom – and that person was an off-duty township police officer.

According to a police report, officers were dispatched to the Cinemark Tinseltown movie theater on Market Street shortly before 8 p.m. Wednesday for a “physical altercation.”

An off-duty police officer reported Jacob Cushman, 20, approached him in the restroom and “asked him to take a shot from a half-empty bottle of Blue Vodka,” which the officer declined.

He said Cushman began to yell profanities, left the restroom and continued to drink the vodka.

The officer approached Cushman and told Cushman he was a township police officer, prompting Cushman to become “disrespectful while yelling insults about police officers,” according to the report.

The officer reported Cushman refused to comply with his orders and swung the vodka bottle toward someone, then struggled with the officer.

Police said Cushman asked to use the restroom during the booking process, then urinated “on the toilet seat, wall and sink area,” and told police, “Take off your badge, I will pound you into the dirt.”

According to court records, Cushman is charged with underage possession of alcohol, assault and disorderly conduct.

He appeared Thursday in Mahoning County Area Court, where he pleaded not guilty.