During an incident last Friday night in Linton, a screaming man was allegedly taunting a police officer by saying, “You wanna take me? Bet you can’t.” He lost that bet and landed in jail.

Ezekiel Thomas Morrow, 31, Linton, was arrested by Officer Alan Jackson of the Linton Police Department last Friday, November 12.

Around 7:30 p.m. last Friday, LPD Dispatch got a call about an unruly man with long blonde hair and mustache wearing a green camouflage jacket and blue jeans outside the Party Center Liquor Store on A Street NW in Linton. The man was later identified as Ezekiel Morrow, also known as Zeke Morrow.

Officer Jackson was dispatched and when he pulled into the parking area, Morrow fast walked toward Officer Jackson’s patrol vehicle. The officer reported that when he got out to talk to him, he detected the odor of alcohol and Morrow showed other signs of intoxication that included poor balance and coordination, slurred speech and an abusive attitude.

Morrow asked the officer his name and when the officer told him, Morrow allegedly started screaming and called the officer a liar. Morrow continued to scream for no reason and was told to stop screaming several times. He was also told to keep his hands out of his pockets for safety reasons. Morrow allegedly got close enough to Officer Jackson that while he was screaming, he was spitting in the officer’s face.

Officer Jackson reported Morrow kept taunting him and wanted to fight, saying, “You wanna take me? Bet you can’t,” and “You wanna do something about it, do something.” Morrow allegedly continued screaming and arguing and told the officer he was going to f--- him up.

It appeared Morrow had a pocket knife in a front pocket, with a clip on the top of the pocket, and he continued to put his hand in the pocket. So Morrow was told the officer was going to pat him down to check for weapons but Morrow resisted and was moving away. Officer Jackson then tackled Morrow, taking him to the ground. Morrow continued to resist but the officer got him handcuffed.

When Morrow was placed in the patrol vehicle and was being buckled in, he allegedly spit on the left side of the officer’s face. During transport to the Greene County Jail, Morrow continued to yell and taunt the officer and got his seat belt off a couple of times prompting the officer to stop to buckle him up again.

Morrow was booked in 8:39 p.m. His bond was set at $10,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. A of Tuesday night, he had not posted bond.

Morrow has another criminal case pending against him, involving operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Morrow’s initial hearing is set for tomorrow, Wednesday, Noember 17, when he will be formally charged with:

Intimidation, a Level 6 felony,
Battery by bodily waste – victim a public safety officer, a Level 6 felony,
Resisting law enforcement – knowingly or intentionally forcibly resists, a Class A misdemeanor,
Criminal mischief, a Class B misdemeanor, and
Disorderly conduct – engaging in fighting or tumultuous conduct, a Class B misdemeanor.

In the scuffle on concrete, Officer Jackson’s uniform pant leg was ripped and he sustained a medium-size bleeding scrape below a knee.