NORTHAMPTON — An Easthampton woman pleaded not guilty in Northampton District Court on Tuesday to a charge of trying to disarm a police officer who was taking her into protective custody over the weekend.
Brandi Forman, 51, faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison for allegedly grabbing and pulling on Northampton Police Officer Jonathan Bartlett’s service pistol during a struggle in a city parking lot.
Forman, of Overlook Drive in Easthampton, was released on personal recognizance after her arraignment. She also faces charges of disorderly conduct and assaulting two other police officers, whom she allegedly bit during the booking process.
A pretrial conference is scheduled for Dec. 8; Forman was appointed an attorney and charged a standard $150 counsel fee.
At around 10:15 p.m. on Saturday, two officers responded to the Maplewood Shops parking lot on Conz Street for a report of a seemingly intoxicated woman who had spent half an hour looking for her car. Bartlett wrote in a report of the incident that Forman had bloodshot eyes and “disheveled hair” and smelled of alcohol.
“Based on the totality of my observations it was readily apparent to me that Forman was intoxicated to a degree that she could not care for herself,” Bartlett wrote.
Bartlett offered Forman several ideas for getting home safely, he wrote, but when she insisted on walking back to Easthampton and became argumentative, he decided to take her into protective custody. His report describes Forman as kicking and thrashing while Bartlett and Officer Tyler Hampson tried to “verbally de-escalate” the situation without success.
After about 30 seconds, Hampson wrote in his own report, he and Bartlett slowly brought Forman to the ground and handcuffed her, then carried her to Bartlett’s cruiser.
During a search, Forman allegedly grabbed onto Bartlett’s belt, pulling on his “key fob, handcuff key and handcuff clip.”
“I advised Forman to stop grabbing at my belt line (and) as I was doing so I felt Forman’s hands grasp the top of my holster and the rear grip portion of my service weapon and again pull strongly,” Bartlett wrote. “Fearing that Forman was attempting to disengage the security hood on my holster, I pushed her against the side of my cruiser with my arms to create space and loudly commanded her to take her hand off my pistol.”
The officers brought Forman to the police station on Center Street, where she “continued to be verbally abusive, non-compliant and exhibit indicators of being heavily intoxicated,” Bartlett wrote.
Forman suffered a cut on her forehead and injuries to her wrists that police said were consistent with straining against handcuffs. While officers were preparing to put her into an ambulance, she allegedly bit two of them, including Hampson, causing no apparent injuries.
After receiving treatment at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, Forman was taken to the Hampshire County Jail and House of Correction.
Police determined that Forman’s car was in the public parking garage, not at the Maplewood Shops.
Brian Steele can be reached at bsteele@gazettenet.com.