A Clintonville woman is accused of threatening tavern patrons with a knife, then trying to strangle herself with a seat belt in a squad car after she was arrested.
Jessica L. Poppe, 34, is charged with two counts each of reckless endangerment, endangerment with a weapon, carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct, as well as resisting an officer and criminal damage to property.
On Saturday April 11, Officer Matthew Wright and Sgt. Craig Bevernitz, with the Clintonville Police Department, were dispatched to a disturbance at Cutty Sark Bar. While they were enroute to the bar, they were advised that Poppe was waving a knife around after she was asked to leave.
When he arrived at the bar, Wright found Poppe, whom he recognized from prior encounters, outside the bar. She had no weapons in her hands.
Witnesses told police that Poppe had been “extremely belligerent,” then pulled a knife, threatened one patron and chased another out of the bar.
Wright reported finding two 7 3/4-inch folding lock-blade knives in Poppe’s jacket pocket. One of the knives was open and the other was closed.
Wright handcuffed Poppe and attempted to place her in his squad car.
“Jessica Poppe, who was extremely intoxicated and uncooperative, would not step up into the vehicle,” the criminal complaint says. “After several times of telling her to get up into the vehicle, and (her) refusing to, she was physically picked up and dragged into the vehicle.”
Once in the squad car, Poppe reportedly began pounding her head against the windows.
Poppe was placed in a holding cell at the Clintonville police station.
According to the criminal complaint, Poppe stuffed a roll of toilet paper into the toilet and began flushing repeatedly until the toilet overflowed and flooded the cell.
She was removed from the cell for immediate transport to the county jail.
At 4:27 a.m., Wright was taking Poppe to the county jail when he pulled into the Culver’s parking lot on Main Street in Clintonville, called dispatch and asked for an ambulance. Wright reported that Poppe was trying to strangle herself with a seat belt.
When the Clintonville ambulance arrived, Poppe reportedly said she would kill herself rather than go to jail. She also said she had hepatitis and threatened to spit on the paramedics. Wright placed her in a spit hood.
Right after the ambulance left the parking lot, a paramedic radioed that Poppe was attempting to strangle herself with a strap that was holding her to the cot. She also tried to chew a hole in the spit hood, the complaint says.