An Odessa police officer was punched in the face Nov. 30 and the man accused of hitting him is now facing a second-degree felony.
According to an Odessa Police Department report, officers received a disturbance call from the 300 block of Wabash Avenue around 9 p.m. Nov. 30.
When they were on their way, dispatchers told the officers the caller sounded as though he was running and said he needed police and he knew about a murder, the report stated.
When officers arrived, Wabash residents said a man later identified as Ryell Pride, 32, chased their vehicle and Pride’s family said they thought he was high on something other than alcohol, the report stated.
When officers began speaking with Pride they noticed he had slurred speech, droopy and glassy eyes and moments later he punched an officer so hard in the face he had swelling to his jawline, according to the report.
An officer wrote in the report it took several officers to take Pride into custody at the scene and again at Medical Center Hospital, where he was taken to be checked out.
During the investigation, Pride admitted he’d taken fentanyl and cocaine, the report stated.
Pride was arrested on suspicion of assault on a peace officer and the misdemeanor charges of public intoxication and resisting transport. He was released from the Ector County jail Friday after posting surety bonds totaling $45,000.
