An Anchorage officer was punched repeatedly while breaking up a large party and assisting in the arrest of a man with outstanding warrants, police said.
Officers were called to a home in the 5800 block of Rocky Mountain Court in East Anchorage just before midnight Tuesday on complaints of a loud party. Officers found people playing “excessively loud music” in the backyard, police wrote in an online statement.
The officers discovered that 23-year-old Lotomau A. Mauga had thrown the party and had an outstanding warrant for his arrest from Fairbanks, police said.
Mauga tried to pull away as officers handcuffed him, and police said the partygoers “started to yell at the arresting officers and converge on them.”
As the officers made their way to the patrol car with Mauga, 36-year-old Lucky Magalei “walked up to the officers in an aggressive manner,” police said. Officers repeatedly told Magalei to back up, and one officer pulled out his stun gun.
“Magalei then increased his pace, turned away abruptly from the officer who had the Taser, balled up his fist, and punched one of the other officers in the face more than once which caused that officer to drop to the ground,” police wrote.
Another officer shocked Magalei with the Taser, and he fell to the ground and was handcuffed, the statement said.
Police said several of the partygoers headed toward the patrol vehicles, and other officers were called to the area to help as the crowd became more hostile.
Magalei and the officer were brought to another location to be examined by medics. Police said the officer had “visible injuries to his face and was showing sings of a head injury.” He was brought to a hospital, and police said Wednesday morning that he had been released.
Magalei is facing charges of assault and resisting arrest, and Mauga was arrested on the outstanding warrant for criminal mischief.
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