Fresno police arrest man after officer assaulted

A 24-year-old man was arrested Friday after an assault on a police officer in the midst of two chases through north Fresno.

The incident began about 12:30 p.m. when the man, identified by police as Jeffrey Bogges, crashed his scooter into the rear of a Mercury Sable sedan while headed south on Blackstone Avenue approaching Barstow Avenue.

Lt. Joe Gomez said Bogges, the driver of the Sable and witness Scott West stopped and Bogges tried to convince the others that there wasn’t a need to call police.

When West told Bogges that police already had been notified, he got angry and soon took off. Gomez said police got reports that Bogges appeared to be intoxicated.

West didn’t wait for officers to arrive; he jumped on his motorcycle and gave chase westbound on Barstow, calling police on a hands-free cellphone attached to his helmet.

Gomez said West pointed a motorcycle officer to Bogges in a neighborhood near Wrenwood and Del Mar avenues. The officer caught up to Bogges and told him to sit on a curb while the officer called for backup.

Gomez said that Bogges at first complied but then bolted up and struck the officer. The officer grabbed Bogges, but Bogges got the upper hand and pushed the officer hard to the ground. The officer struck his head and was dazed, but was wearing his helmet at the time, preventing more serious injury. He also suffered injuries to his hands and right knee.

Bogges ran again, and officers brought in two police dogs and called for the California Highway Patrol helicopter for a yard-to-yard search. After about 30 minutes, Bogges tried to run out of the neighborhood but was captured on the 5500 block of North College Avenue.

Bogges appeared to have blood coming from his lower facial area as he was put in a police van. Gomez said he did not know if the injury was sustained after Bogges struck the officer or if it happened as Bogges was trying to escape.

The officer was taken to a hospital for a checkup, as was Bogges before being taken to Fresno County Jail to be booked on several charges. Gomez listed them: felony assault on a peace officer, misdemeanor assault on a peace officer, misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages and misdemeanor hit-and-run.

A records search showed that Bogges had an outstanding felony warrant from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office for felony evading a peace officer with reckless driving, misdemeanor driving under the influence of drugs and misdemeanor possession of concentrated marijuana.

This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 3:06 PM with the headline "Fresno police arrest man after officer assaulted."