LEBANON, Pa. — A Lebanon man is facing multiple felony charges after allegedly injuring a State Police trooper while resisting arrest for an alleged theft in the city last week, State Police said.
Eliezel Rivera Retamar, 25, is charged with felony counts of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer and fleeing or attempting to elude police and a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest in connection to the alleged incident, which occurred on June 5 on the 300 block of North Eighth Street.
According to police, the trooper sustained a broken left leg, an injured left knee, and multiple abrasions after tackling Rivera Retamar, who continued to resist until police used a taser device to subdue him.
The incident began shortly after 3 p.m. when the trooper was investigating the theft of an item from the front porch of a home on North Eighth Street and was able to identify Rivera Retamar as a suspect, according to a criminal complaint affidavit filed by authorities.
The trooper and a Lebanon City Police officer approached Rivera Retamar to take him into custody, but he allegedly fled from them on foot. The trooper gave chase, as Rivera Retamar fled west on Church Street and south on Gannon Street.
As he continued his attempt to flee, Rivera Retamar tripped, allowing the trooper to close the distance and tackle him, police said. But in the process of taking Rivera Retamar to the ground, the trooper sustained injuries to his knee and leg.
Rivera Retamar continued to resist arrest by flailing his arms and legs until the trooper deployed a Taser to subdue him. Other arriving officers then assisted in taking Rivera Retamar into custody, police said.
The injured trooper was taken to Hershey Medical Center via ambulance for treatment.
