For 59-year-old Cope resident Richard Rohde, it meant pleading guilty to felony menacing and receiving a two-year probation sentence.
Rohde had originally faced charges of assaulting a peace officer, obstructing a peace officer and criminal trespass before the judge accepted a stipulated plea agreement Thursday.
Public Defender Garen Gervey said Rohde suffered a nervous breakdown on Dec. 23. According to the arrest affidavit, Rohde refused to leave Sterling's Zion Church and struggled with Sterling Police Department officers who tried to contain him.
The affidavit says he punched SPD officer Russell Baca in the face and back of the head and SPD officer Kent Keller (it didn't specify where), and ripped open Baca's uniform before he was "drive stunned" with a Taser in the abdomen.
Officers continued to struggle with Rohde until he was placed in a detox cell at the Logan County Jail, where he, "asked if we were going to kill him," "if this is how someone is initiated into being an American," and said "this is what happens in Obamaland."
He then laughed like "Woody Woodpecker" at the officers, removed his clothing, splashed water from the toilet onto his body, put his clothes in the toilet and flushed it, according to the affidavit.
The officers sustained only minor injuries.
"He continued to be pretty erratic, pretty noteworthy," said District Judge Charles Hobbs, after clarifying Rohde had to be stunned during the incident. "It's a little bit more than losing your temper."
Gervey said Rohde has "improved dramatically" since the incident and has been taking medications while in jail.
Deputy District Attorney Travis Sides said some of the concern he had stemmed from what he said during the incident, which also included "This is fun," and "If this were Denver, I'd be dead."
"Such behavior is not normal, to say the least," Sides said.
But he also said officers didn't give Rohde any drug tests after the incident, and there were no prior reports that he was using drugs. The only history with drugs he has comes from a controlled substance possession conviction, Sides said, but that was from 1993.
Neither explained what caused the breakdown, but Gervey said Rohdes was just looking to get his life back on track now.
Still, Rohde will have to submit to drug and alcohol and mental health evaluations as a condition of the sentence.
David Martinez: (970) 526-9283; dmartinez@journal-advocate.com
Follow David on Twitter @ Dmartinez_JA
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