Powell woman charged with injuring officer

Posted 3/21/24

A Powell woman is facing multiple felony charges for allegedly trying to kick, bite and spit at police officers last month.

The most serious allegation against Addison F. West is that she kicked …

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Powell woman charged with injuring officer

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A Powell woman is facing multiple felony charges for allegedly trying to kick, bite and spit at police officers last month.

The most serious allegation against Addison F. West is that she kicked a responding officer in the genitals, causing him severe pain that lingered for days.

Park County prosecutors have charged West with seven counts: one felony charge of causing bodily injury to a peace officer, plus three felony counts of attempting to injure an officer and misdemeanor counts of interference with an officer, domestic assault and breach of peace. She is currently free on an unsecured bond that includes alcohol testing multiple times a day; West had reportedly been intoxicated at the time of the incident.

“I know that no matter what happened, I got here because of alcohol,” a tearful West said at her initial court appearance in early February, adding that “I am willing to do whatever it takes when it comes to getting sober.”

West’s ex-boyfriend contacted police on the night on Feb. 2, reporting that West had kicked in the door to his bedroom. He told responding officers that he was in the process of evicting West from his home, but she was staying there following the death of a friend.

Police found West wearing only a blanket, Officer Trevor Carpenter wrote in an affidavit. While police spoke with West’s ex, she allegedly became belligerent — yelling vulgar and profane comments, exposing herself and throwing her cellphone at Carpenter.

“Just take me to jail,” West allegedly said.

When officers placed her in handcuffs, West allegedly kicked at them, spat at them and her ex, and continued screaming profanities, charging documents allege.

Concerned she would continue resisting as they proceeded down the stairs, Carpenter said he and the other officer at the scene requested additional assistance from their colleagues, the Wyoming Highway Patrol, the Park County Sheriff’s Office and EMTs from Powell Valley Hospital.

As they waited, Carpenter said West went “from calm to yelling at the top of her lungs and physically resisting us.” At one point, he said West tried biting his Achilles tendon.

The first responders eventually took the 280-pound suspect down the stairs on a specialized chair, but on the way, she allegedly kicked one of the Powell officers directly in his genitals. On a scale of one to 10, Carpenter said his colleague rated the initial pain at an eight.

“He was very injured,” Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Laura Newton said at a court hearing earlier this month, “and it did take a few days to recover from that.”

Park County Circuit Court Judge Darrah initially set bond at $2,500 cash or surety, with a condition that she use a device that tracks her location and randomly tests her blood alcohol levels; she posted the cash bond on Feb. 5.

However, after receiving more details about the incident, Newton soon decided to drop the initial four counts and file the expanded seven-count case. One felony relates to allegedly throwing her phone at an officer, another relates to trying to bite him, while the other two relate to kicking two other officers.

At a March 5 hearing, Newton sought a new, $1,000 bond, but Darrah allowed West to be released on an unsecured signature bond. The judge again ordered West to have no contact with her ex and to continue undergoing random breath testing via the handheld, GPS-enabled device. West said she’s been using the device continually since her release from jail — voluntarily doing so after the first case was dismissed; Darrah said he found that encouraging.

West’s case advanced to Park County District Court on Monday, after she waived her right to a preliminary hearing in circuit court. Her next appearance will be an arraignment, where she will enter a plea to the charges.

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