Man With Bong Fights Officers, Says They Have no Right to Search

A man sitting behind a bong on Wednesday, March 19, became violent when officers attempted to search him, yelling that they didn't have the right to do so. 

The man, 28-year-old Otis Ray Woodfin Jr, was at a residence on E. 21st Street just after 10:00 p.m., when Officer Adrian Castro was dispatched for an unknown problem. Upon arriving, a second man led the officer into a house, where he immediately noticed the bong sitting in front of Woodfin. 

According to the incident report, Castro pretended to not notice the bong right away, as Woodfin explained that he must have accidentally dialed 911. When Castro attempted to identify the man, Woodfin picked up a T-shirt and covered his right hand. 

At this point, the report says, Castro knew the man was not going to be cooporative, and when he asked Woodfin to uncover his hand, the man became verbally combative and belligerent. 

Moments later, Officer Travis McGee arrived on scene as back up, and Castro advised him to watch Woodfin's hands as he attempted to put him in handcuffs for a probable cause search.

As his statement indicates, Woodfin clearly found this to be a violation of his rights, and became violent and extremely physical. The report states that he began resisting the two officers, kicking, swinging and reaching for his waistband. Officer Castro reported that at this point, he feared that Woodfin had a weapon, and as Officer McGee attempted to take him to the ground, the suspect fought harder and pulled both officers down with him.

Aware that the other man was still in the room, Castro, fearing for his and McGee’s safety, instructed him to stay put. The man complied. As other back up units arrived, Woodfin continued to struggle, but was eventually detained and transported to the jail.

A search of Woodfin revealed a 4-inch box cutter blade and a tinfoil pipe was find underneath him. Woodfin was arrested for drug paraphernalia and resisting arrest. 

In his statement, the witness stated that he let the officer in the house, and when the officer started asking Woodfin about his hands that "Woodfin started being an a**hole and resisted when the officers tried to cuff him."

Woodfin's statement simply says that he yelled officers had no right to search him.