Officer said he suffered assault during arrest

A Conway police officer sought medical treatment after a man being arrested allegedly assaulted him, according to a police report.

Jermaine Stewart, 37, of Conway was charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer and was also cited in connection with disorderly conduct and for not wearing a seat belt, police said.

While on patrol at a traffic safety checkpoint about 11:49 p.m. Monday near Grainger and Millpond Road, an officer followed a black Chrysler Sedan that allegedly eluded the checkpoint, police said.

Authorities said the driver was followed to a parking area on the 2300 block of Leonard Avenue in Conway, and police said the driver of the car got out and ran from the area after the traffic stop.

Another officer said he found a man, Stewart, who matched the description of the suspect who ran and detained him until the other officer could arrive to identify him.

While waiting for the officer to arrive, police said they ran Stewart’s information through information systems and discovered he had an active arrest warrant issued by the Conway Police Department; however, the report did not list details of the incident connected to the warrant.

Stewart was placed in handcuffs, and when the officer who saw a man running from the Sedan earlier arrived, he said he could not be sure that Stewart was the same man, authorities said.

Police said while being arrested, Stewart allegedly became disorderly and began yelling profanity.

Authorities also said Stewart lunged at a police officer in an attempt to head-but him while seated in the back of a patrol car and refused to wear his seat belt.

Police said Stewart slammed his body into an officer’s thumb, and EMS was called out to examine it.

The officer was told he needed further medical treatment and was told he had a sprained thumb after being seen at Conway Medical Center, according to the report.

Police said Stewart was taken to the J. Reuben Long Detention Center, and was released early Tuesday morning.

The amount of his bail was not listed, according to jail records.

This story was originally published July 29, 2015 at 11:07 AM with the headline "Officer said he suffered assault during arrest."