Tempe Police reported the following incident Wednesday:
A Tempe man was arrested Oct. 27 at Sixth Street and Mill Avenue on suspicion of assault, destruction of evidence and criminal damage, according to a police report.
The man was contacted by police while he was smoking a cigarette, police reported. The officer approached the man, who is often seen holding a sign asking for "nugs," asked him to hand over the cigarette, according to the report.
The man refused to hand over the marijuana cigarette and resisted as the officer attempted to detain him, police reported.
During the struggle, the man swallowed the cigarette as he was saying "I swallowed it, it's gone," according to the report.
The man became angry and began yelling, kicking and refusing to get in the police car, police reported.
With the help of two officers, police got the man in the car, but he began kicking at the door aggressively to prevent it from being closed, according to the report.
The man was warned that he would be charged with assault if he kicked an officer, and the man proceeded to kick an officer in the chest with his steel-toed boots, police reported.
After the door was closed, the man continued to kick the car door from the inside, which damaged several parts of the door and caused the door to bow out, according to the report.
The man was transported to Tempe City Jail, where he was booked and held pending charges, police reported.
Report compiled by Isabella Castillo
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Reach the reporter at icastil3@asu.edu or follow @isabella_m_cast on twitter
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