Mesa police officer needs surgery after suspect breaks hand in Dutch Bros. fight

MESA, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — Three Mesa police officers were injured in a fight to arrest a man at a Mesa Dutch Bros. location Saturday morning.

Police say 21-year-old Tegan Williams sent the three officers to the hospital, one of whom requires surgery for a broken hand during the struggle. Williams was arrested at the scene and faces various charges such as aggravated assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, criminal damage, and 3rd-degree trespassing. He’s being held on a $100,000 bond.

On Saturday around 8:45 a.m., Mesa police responded to reports of a person disturbing a Dutch Bros. just off Power Road near Ray Road. Williams left the area before officers arrived but returned to the service window at the restaurant while officers were speaking with staff. When officers confronted Williams, he refused to leave, and one officer told him that he would deploy his Taser if Williams wouldn’t leave. He refused again, starting a six-minute fight with officers. Documents say witnesses at the scene and body-worn footage show Williams grabbed and squeezed one officer’s hand so hard during the fight that it broke. He also kicked another officer unconscious at the scene and bruised his nose. A third officer also had a hand injury that required an x-ray.

Court documents say Williams told officers he intentionally goes places to put himself in dangerous situations and that he speeds away whenever he’s pulled over while driving. He also told officers that he wished he’d taken the first officer hostage, put him into submission, and taken his gun, court documents say. Investigators later learned that he was recently arrested by Glendale Police on felony charges.

The Dutch Bros. location had to be closed for nearly three hours while the investigation took place.

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