Man allegedly assaults officer
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on September 19, 2016 9:53 AM
A Goldsboro police officer was assaulted after taking a man to the emergency room Sunday night, according to a police report.
Robert Fortner, 39, of 809-B Prince Ave., allegedly kicked an officer in the lower abdomen when the officer attempted to remove Fortner's restraints when he was in the emergency room.
According to a report on the incident, officers were taking Fortner to the Wayne County Detention Center for a complaint about indecent exposure when he became extremely irate and combative.
"We got a complaint that he was exposing himself and officers were able to follow up and make an arrest," said Maj. Anthony Carmon, head of the Goldsboro Police Department's Criminal Investigations Division.
Fortner allegedly slammed his own head into the partition in the officer's patrol car that separates officers and people that have been arrested until he knocked himself out.
By the time the officers got to the detention center, Fortner was alert and awake again, the report says.
Wayne County EMS met the officers at the detention center and Fortner refused multiple times to be taken to the hospital but eventually agreed to go to the hospital, the report says.
According to the report, Fortner began using vulgar language and racial slurs in front of the officers and detention center staff.
Fortner was taken to the hospital, where his use of vulgarity escalated in the emergency room, according to the report.
When an officer attempted to remove Fortner's restraints, Fortner allegedly kicked the officer in the lower abdomen with both feet and threatened to kill both officers that were present, the report says.
The officer was not injured, Carmon said.
Fortner was charged with indecent exposure, two counts of communicating threats, disorderly conduct and assault on a government official.
He was given a $7,000 secured bond, and Carmon said Fortner is still in jail as of this morning.