DAVENPORT, Iowa -- A woman has been accused of biting an officer as police tried to arrest her.
It was around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 19th when police were called to 35th Street and Main Street for a hit and run crash with injuries, according to an affidavit. That's where officers found 37-year-old Mercedes Clay sitting in the drivers seat of a running vehicle. She admitted to driving and at that time Clay was described as having red, bloodshot and watery eyes, while also appearing unsteady on her feet and smelling of alcohol.
According to the affidavit, the responding officer was "not able to do standardized field sobriety tests or preliminary breath test."
Police tried place Clay under arrest but she had to be physically detained because she was trying to leave the scene, the affidavit explained.
"During this time, the defendant intentionally bit a uniformed officer in the right bicep," read the affidavit. The officer ended up with a bite mark, an abrasion to the left knee, scratches to the right side of the face, and an abrasion to the right wrist.
As more officers arrived to help detain Clay, she "continued to actively resist," read the affidavit.
Once in custody at the Scott County Jail, the affidavit said that she assaulted jail staff and they had to use a seated restraint device to control her. Also while at the jail, seven small, burnt marijuana blunts were found on her person.
Jail records show that Clay was charged with assault on a police officer, assault on a police officer resulting in bodily injury, harassment, interference with official acts - bodily injury, operating while intoxicated second offense, possession of prescription drugs. She was released on bond.
Multiple officer injuries were reported in Davenport over the weekend, all unrelated. One serious injury happened Sunday morning where police had responded to a report of a burglary at East 12th Street and Iowa Street. A separate incident at Gaines Street left an officer with two cuts below the eye while trying to detain someone.
