Driver fails to get a leg up on patrolman
Oregon man booked for assault after tossing prosthetic devices at officer
Updated: 12:41 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2006
CHEMULT, Ore. - State troopers are used to having angry people throw strange things at them. But a pair of prosthetic legs?
Trooper Don Newcomb got hit with the appendages after stopping a vehicle for driving the wrong direction on Highway 97, police said. The trooper asked the driver to leave the SUV after allegedly smelling alcohol on his breath.
The driver initially refused to get out and a passenger, 53-year-old Joel Kackstetter, got out and told Newcomb that he would rip his head off, police said.
Once Newcomb finally got the driver to the patrol car, he chased Kackstetter, kicking him from behind. It was then than Kackstetter threw both of his legs at Newcomb, according to a police report. One missed him but the other hit the trooper in the chest.
Kackstetter was booked Saturday on suspicion of menacing, assaulting an officer, interference with an officer, criminal conspiracy and resisting arrest. His bail was set at $45,000. The driver was charged with driving under the influence, reckless driving, resisting arrest and attempted assault of an officer.
© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
