John Bradish

A local man is facing felony criminal charges after he allegedly bit the hands of two different Powell police officers.

John P. W. Bradish, 36, has been charged with two felony counts of causing bodily injury to a peace officer and misdemeanor counts of interference with a peace officer and breach of peace in connection with the June 23 incident.

Bradish is alleged to have been “very intoxicated” at the time of the incidents, which reportedly started when he caused a disturbance at a Powell bar on the night of the 23rd. Court records don’t say whether Bradish underwent a formal breath test, but he still had alcohol in his system when he appeared in Park County Circuit Court the following afternoon.

Circuit Court Judge Bruce Waters set Bradish’s bond at $20,000 cash until his blood alcohol content registered 0.0 percent. Once Bradish was fully sober, he was allowed to get out of jail by posting $7,500. That amount was posted on Bradish’s behalf by another man on June 25. He’s been free since then while awaiting further proceedings.

Charging documents say a bartender at the K-Bar Saloon had called Powell police shortly after 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 23, reporting that Bradish was refusing to leave.

Officer Matt Koritnik wrote in a charging affidavit that he and fellow officer Braden Hancock found Bradish outside the East First Street bar. Bradish was swaying on his feet, slurring his speech and acting aggressively, the officer said.

“He yelled out loud, ‘I’m [expletive]ed’ and was disturbing the peace of the community,” Koritnik wrote.

The officer said he tried to give Bradish a ride home, but the man “continued giving me different addresses and was unable to tell me exactly where he lived.” Eventually, Bradish declared that he wanted to go to jail and began yelling inside the patrol car, the affidavit says.

Bradish was taken out of the car and handcuffed, but he then grabbed the radio microphone on Koritnik’s shirt and began screaming into it. While Koritnik and Hancock were taking Bradish to the ground and trying to pry the mic out of his hands, the man allegedly bit Hancock’s hand; he also made other unsuccessful attempts to bite both officers, Koritnik wrote.

After Deputy Chris Ivanoff of the Park County Sheriff’s Office arrived to provide backup, Bradish finally agreed to sit down in the back seat of the patrol car. However, once at the police station, Bradish — still yelling and screaming — reportedly tried to climb out the rear window of the car.

Officer Hancock and Sgt. Matt McCaslin tried to get Bradish to sit back down, but “he continued resisting and intentionally bit Sgt. McCaslin on his left hand,” the affidavit says.

Causing or attempting to cause bodily injury to a peace officer is punishable by as much as 10 years in prison per offense.

A preliminary hearing in the case, where Judge Waters will determine if there’s enough evidence for the case to proceed toward a trial in district court, is currently set for Friday, July 26.