A man who stabbed an officer during an arrest held on Tuesday morning in the Shaw neighborhood was taken into custody, according to the District of Columbia Police Department.
At approximately 8:35 in the morning, the stabbing took place in the 600 block of Florida Avenue Northwest. The suspect, identified as Ian Andre Zephryin, resident of Northeast, was approached by law enforcement officers. He was suspected of stealing from a store located in the 2000 block of 8th Street NW.
In a release, police said they attempted to stop him as he was exiting the store with the stolen merchandise on him.
According to the police, Zephryin became belligerent and assaulted a law enforcement officer. Zephryin pulled out a knife and swung it toward an officer, causing the officer to sustain a cut to the forehead. This occurred after Zephryin had been pepper dropped by an officer.
After being ordered to do so by the officers, Zephryin surrendered the weapon and was subsequently taken into custody. The officer was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of injuries that were not considered to be life-threatening.
He is being charged with four offenses, including felony assault on a law enforcement officer and theft in the second degree.
As stated in the press release, Chief Pamela Smith of the Police Department stated that incidents such as these bring to light “the dangers that our officers face every day as they work to keep our city safe.”
