Ads by Google Ads by Google

Man who allegedly punched a cop during traffic stop appears in court

American Samoa District Court building
ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A passenger of a vehicle pulled over by police officers for a traffic violation was arrested and charged for violating local drug laws. During the arrest, the passenger, Sam Faatipa allegedly punched a police officer.

Faatipa made his initial appearance in District Court last month.

He is charged with one count of unlawful possession of meth and one count of resisting arrest, both felonies.

Bail is set at $10,000.

THE CASE

On July 30th, about 6pm, several police officers conducted a traffic stop when they observed Sam Faatipa sitting on the top of the rail of the pick up truck bed while exiting from the road that goes to the Le Aute Sports & Bar compound. Faatipa was later identified as the defendant in this matter.

Officers pulled the vehicle over in a parking lot in Futiga near the church. Officers exited their police units and immediately approached the driver to explain the reason for the stop and asked the driver if he knew the person sitting on the top rail in the back of the pick up. The driver responded that the person was just hitching a ride.

As the officers issued a citation, the person in the back hopped off of the vehicle and started making suspicious movements by patting the side of his waistline. Officers asked if he had any dangerous weapons on him, and started to conduct a pat-down for the officers’ safety.

During the pat down, the suspect fled on foot. Officers chased the suspect on foot and one officer caught up with suspect and tackled him to the ground. While the officer was trying to place the cuffs on the suspect, the suspect punched the officer with a closed fist using his right hand.

The officer punched the suspect in self-defense but the suspect kept on resisting and punching the officers with a green flashlight and a closed fist multiple times. The suspect kept getting back up trying to flee but a pedestrian by the name of Andrew Tema who had witnessed the takedown ran over to assist the officers and who were then able to pin down the suspect and place the cuffs on him.

Before the suspect was placed in the police unit, officers conducted a pat-down for their safety. During the pat-down, officers seized what appeared to be drug paraphernalia, a clear pipe containing crystallized substance inside.

The officer found the paraphernalia inside the suspect’s shorts on the right side of his waistline and had officers at the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) contact the Vice & Narcotics Division regarding the drugs found on the suspect. The suspect was then transported to the TPS for further investigation.

The officer who tackled the suspect entered the TPS with a laceration on top of his eye, on the left side of his facial area — stating that he had only then noticed that he was injured. The suspect also sustained minor injuries and both the suspect and the officer were treated by EMS personnel.

Investigators Mirandized the suspect and he refused to make a statement and also threatened the officers.

A detective of the Vice & Narcotics Division tested the crystallized substance and it was found positive for meth using the Reagent Test Kit.