Powell man re-arrested after another altercation with officers

Posted 8/20/19

A Powell man is alleged to have caused a drunken disturbance at a rural Cody residence and fought with two Park County Sheriff’s deputies earlier this month.

It was the second time in as …

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Powell man re-arrested after another altercation with officers

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A Powell man is alleged to have caused a drunken disturbance at a rural Cody residence and fought with two Park County Sheriff’s deputies earlier this month.

It was the second time in as many months that John P. W. Bradish has been accused of causing a disturbance and fighting with law enforcement officers. At the time of the altercation in the Cody area, Bradish, 36, was already facing allegations that he bit two Powell police officers in June.

Bradish has been charged with misdemeanor counts of breach of peace, criminal trespassing, property destruction and interference with a peace officer in connection with the Aug. 8 incident in rural Cody. He has pleaded not guilty to the allegations.

As of Monday, Bradish remained in the Park County Detention Center — with bond set at $15,000 — as he awaits a trial that’s tentatively scheduled for November in Circuit Court.

Meanwhile, in the case relating to the June 23 altercation with Powell police, he’s set to be arraigned on felony charges of causing bodily injury to a peace officer and misdemeanor counts of interference with a peace officer and breach of peace in District Court next month.

Bradish had been free on a $7,500 cash bond in that case since June 25, but he was re-arrested on the evening of Aug. 8.

Charging documents say a woman who’d been dropping food off at the residence on McCullough Road, northeast of Cody, called the sheriff’s office at 6:23 p.m. She reported that an intoxicated man — later identified as Bradish — was threatening to fight people and causing a disturbance.

The homeowner and his son would later tell deputies that Bradish had pulled into their driveway and appeared very drunk; the affidavit does not specify the homeowner’s relationship with Bradish, but says he was not welcome at the home.

The son reported that he’d taken the keys to Bradish’s truck and offered to give him a ride home, but Bradish allegedly became aggressive and refused to leave.

When Deputy Andy Varian and Undersheriff Tom Ehlers arrived on scene, Bradish ran to the back of the home and began trying to get in the back door, Varian wrote in an affidavit filed in support of the case.

The two deputies tried to reason with Bradish, but he refused to comply, the affidavit says.

“I repeated to John Bradish that he is trespassing and he needs to stop trying to get in the residence,” Varian wrote, but Bradish “became angry and would not stop.”

Varian and Ehlers then took Bradish to the ground; in the ensuing scuffle, Varian and Bradish fell through the screen door, causing $400 to $500 worth of damage, the affidavit says. Varian would later report that he’d sustained a small cut to his arm.

The two deputies got Bradish on his back, but Bradish continued flailing his arms and resisting.

“John Bradish’s behavior was up and down with moments of calm and moments of extreme agitation,” Varian wrote.

The deputies eventually handcuffed him and loaded him into a patrol vehicle, though “while I was holding John Bradish’s arms he attempted to pinch me numerous times,” Varian wrote.

Varian says Bradish smelled strongly of alcohol. However, the affidavit indicates that Bradish’s blood alcohol content was not tested, as he refused to take a breath test.

Officers in Wyoming can obtain an order from a judge to involuntarily take a blood sample from a suspected drunk driver, but “considering John Bradish’s resistant conduct and behavior I elected to not risk further physical confrontation that would be associated with transporting him to the hospital for a blood draw,” Varian wrote.

Bradish was initially charged with driving while under the influence for a second time in 10 years, but prosecutors dropped the count at his initial appearance.

Alcohol was also an apparent factor in the June 23 incident involving Powell police. In that case, police were called after Bradish reportedly refused to leave the K-Bar Saloon. Officers reportedly found Bradish intoxicated and acting aggressively. They offered him a ride home, but he eventually said he wanted to go to jail instead. Bradish then reportedly yelled at and fought with multiple officers as they arrested and transported him — allegedly biting two of them on the hand.

Court records indicate Bradish had consumed enough alcohol that night in June that, at his initial Circuit Court appearance the following afternoon, he still had alcohol in his system.

While free on the $7,500 bond in that case, Bradish was not supposed to be consuming alcohol — and he was directed to obey all laws.

Park County prosecutors have not sought to revoke his bond from the prior case.

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