Police: Man Tased, Charged with Felony, After Grabbing for Officer's Gun

A Des Moines man who allegedly was making suicidal threats Saturday evening is facing felony charges after a scuffle with police resulted in him grabbing for a police officer's gun.

According to an Iowa City Police criminal complaint, police officers were dispatched to 500 S. Riverside Dr. at 10:26 p.m. for the report of an visibly upset man who was making threats that he was going to step into traffic or jump into the river.

Upon arriving at the scene and after several minutes of searching, officers found the man, Erik Andrew Spangrud, 21, of Des Moines, hiding under a parked vehicle. Spangrud allegedly refused to emerge from underneath the vehicle when officers requested that he do so, according to the complaint. Officers then pulled Spangrud out from under the vehicle, despite his attempt to hold on to the vehicle's bottom.

With Spangrud extricated from under the vehicle, he then became increasingly violent, refusing to put his hands behind his back and allegedly attempting to remove a nearby officer's sidearm from its holster. Spangrud allegedly attempted to twist the officer's weapon out of the holster for approximately 10 seconds, successfully undoing the thumb brake on the holster, partially releasing the weapon.

Spangrud was then subdued with the use of a Taser, according to the complaint. An officer received a minor injury to his hand during the arrest.

Spangrud now faces charges of disarming a police officer, a class D felony, and interference with official acts with bodily injury, an aggravated misdemeanor.