MESA, Ariz. — Three officers with the Mesa Police Department were injured in a fight with a suspect at a Dutch Bros coffee shop in Mesa on Saturday. One of the officers had his hand broken in the altercation, and the suspect said he should have taken the officer hostage and stolen his gun, police said.
According to a police report, officers were called to the Dutch Bros on Power Road around 8:45 a.m., March 11, for reports that a man was causing a disturbance in the store.
Although the man, later identified as 21-year-old Tegan Williams left before officers arrived, he reportedly returned to the store while police were speaking with staff members.
Police told Williams that he was trespassing and needed to get off the property, but he allegedly refused, even when a police officer threatened to use a taser on him. Officers told Williams he was under arrest and attempted to take him into custody.
A report from the police did not provide further detail on how the incident escalated but said that the altercation lasted six minutes.
Police said that, according to witnesses and body cam footage, Williams grabbed one of the officers' hands and squeezed it so hard that the bones broke. The injury will require surgery.
Another officer was kicked and "was seen to be unconscious," while a third had a hand injury that required medical evaluation and an x-ray.
A spokesperson with Dutch Bros said that surveillance video was being withheld for the police and insurance companies only.
Williams stated post Miranda that he "chooses where and when to go places to put himself in jeopardy." He also told authorities that he runs from law enforcement any time he gets pulled over, court documents said. According to those documents, he was also recently arrested by Glendale PD on potential felony charges.
Williams said that he "should have taken the initial officer hostage, placed him into submission, and taken his firearm."
Williams was booked into a local jail on a $100,000 bond. He's facing possible charges of aggravated assault, aggravated assault on law enforcement, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, criminal damage, and third-degree trespass.
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