After sending a St. Paul police officer to the hospital with a gushing head wound, Coni Lamark Shegog bragged that he taught the cop a lesson, authorities say.
“I (expletive) him up. Straight up … He ain’t gonna try that (expletive) no more next time. I guarantee that,” Shegog said after repeatedly striking an officer in the head with his fists and a set of keys, authorities say. A short time later, the 28-year-old St. Paul man spat in the face of another officer as he sat in the back of a squad car.
Shegog was charged Friday with six counts of fourth-degree assault against a peace officer, according to the criminal complaint filed against him in Ramsey County District Court.
One of the counts alleges Shegog’s actions Wednesday caused “demonstrable bodily harm” to St. Paul Officer Dominic Dzik, who was taken to the hospital for treatment of a head-wound.
The other five charges accuse Shegog of unlawfully transferred bodily fluids onto police officers when he spat inside the squad car.
The incident began as a routine police call for Officer Dzik, who was called to an apartment building on Cook Avenue near Westminster Street in St. Paul about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.
A 22-year-old woman at the scene reported that a neighbor violated an order for protection she had against his girlfriend earlier in the day.
Dzik responded alone because the woman reported the neighbor was no longer there. As he talked to the woman in the parking lot, a vehicle pulled in, police said, and the person she had the protection order against was in the passenger seat.
When Dzik went to talk to the people in the car, the driver, Shegog, began yelling at the officer, telling him to move his “(expletive) squad,” before exiting the vehicle.
Shegog then started screaming and yelling at the officer as his girlfriend apparently recorded the incident on his cell phone. At some point, Dzik reached his hand up and put it on Shegog’s chest in an effort to “create distance between them,” the complaint said.
Shegog responded by swatting the officer’s arm away and yelling, “ ‘Don’t you (expletive) touch me,’” according to the criminal complaint.
The combative behavior continued, according to the complaint, prompting the officer to eventually pull out his mace.
Spotting the chemical irritant, Shegog declared, “It’s on,” according to the complaint.
The officer told Shegog he was under arrest and needed to turn around and place his hands behind his back.
When Shegog refused, the officer sprayed his face with the chemical irritant and grabbed him by the waist to try and bring him to the ground, the complaint said.
That’s when Shegog started swinging at Dzik, repeatedly striking him on the top of his head with his fists and a set of keys, according to the complaint.
Other officers eventually arrived at the scene who helped arrest Shegog, according to the complaint.
Dzik, who had difficulty seeing due to the amount of blood seeping from his head, was taken to Regions Hospital, where doctors had to staple his head wound shut, according to the complaint.
When questioned by officers at the scene, Shegog said he fought Dzik because the officer had maced him.
He later spit in another officer’s face after he was placed in the squad car, the complaint said. His saliva allegedly struck several other officers who were assisting in his arrest at the time.
Shegog was scheduled to appear on the charges Friday afternoon. No attorney was listed for him in court records.
Shegog has no criminal record in Minnesota aside from two parking citations.
Shegog’s girlfriend, Erin Jeanetta Bohanon, also was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of fifth-degree assault and obstructing legal process.
The St. Paul City Attorney’s Office reviewed the case against her the following day but declined to charge her due to lack of sufficient evidence, according to an office spokeswoman.