Man spits on police officers — then tests positive for COVID, California cops say

A California man who spit on multiple police officers and all over the back of a patrol car tested positive for COVID-19, the Palm Springs Police Department said.

Concerned callers reported a man throwing things at vehicles and running in and out of traffic on Sunday, according to the police department.

“Two sergeants and two officers arrived on scene and had to physically subdue the man who became physically resistive,” police said Monday on Facebook. “The man was yelling and spitting on the two sergeants and two officers during the entire event.”

Police restrained the unidentified man and put him in the back of a police car to take him to the hospital. He continued to yell and spit in the car, according to police.

“Officers were never able to identify the man but he remained at the hospital for a mental health evaluation,” police said. “While at the hospital, the man tested positive for COVID-19.”

The officers and sergeants were ordered to quarantine for 10 days after their exposure to COVID-19, according to the police department. They were all wearing gloves and masks during the incident, and they washed the man’s spit from their bodies and uniforms.

The department does not plan to press charges against the man, Sgt. Mike Casavan told the Los Angeles Times.

This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Man spits on police officers — then tests positive for COVID, California cops say."