FAYETTE CO. DEPUTIES RECOVERING AFTER LENGTHY STRUGGLE WITH SUBJECT

  

Two Fayette County Sheriff’s Deputies are recovering from injuries after a physical struggle with a violent subject.

Early this (Friday) morning, just before 1 a.m., Deputy Ryan Meagher was dispatched to the Village Market in Carmine in reference to a suspicious person in the parking lot pulling the nozzles out of all the gas pumps.  The subject, identified as 39-year-old Teodoro Rivera of Rio Grande City, was reported by the Sheriff’s Office to be “belligerent” and “behaving erratically”.

Deputy Meagher attempted to verbally defuse the situation and place Rivera under arrest, but he refused to comply.  After failing to subdue Rivera with his taser, Deputy Meagher attempted to place him in handcuffs, but he resisted, leading to a prolonged physical struggle between the two.

Dispatchers made contact with Lee and Washington Counties, who sent deputies to assist.  Fayette County Deputy Adam Mack arrived to help Deputy Meagher subdue Rivera, who continued to put up a lengthy fight with both deputies until they eventually restrained him.  The three were all checked by Fayette County EMS and treated for injuries at the St. Mark’s Emergency Room.

Both deputies suffered cuts and abrasions, with one suffering a fractured hand.  Rivera was released from the hospital and taken to the Dan R. Beck Justice Center, charged with Criminal Mischief, Resisting Arrest, and two counts of Aggravated Assault on a Public Servant.