Man Threw Rock At Cop Car, Spit On Wayne Officers: Police

WAYNE, NJ — A West Milford man faces multiple charges, as Wayne Police say he smashed the window of a cop car and several other vehicles before repeatedly spitting on arresting officers.

According to Wayne PD, the 27-year-old man reportedly went into the Park Wayne Diner "and threw items about" on Saturday evening, after he had been throwing rocks through the windshields of parked vehicles nearby.

Five police officers and a lieutenant arrived on scene just before 6:45 p.m. on July 13, said Detective Captain Dan Daly in a news release. Officer Robert Thompson saw the man, identified as Evan R. Gonzalez, walking down Hamburg Turnpike.

Thompson began driving towards the man in a marked car, when Gonzalez "threw a large rock which smashed the police car windshield," Daly said. He then began walking in the road, and officers stopped traffic in both directions so they could safely approach him.

Police said Gonzalez ignored the officers' commands to stop walking and "continued to display a threatening demeanor." He resisted arrest, and Daly said officers were able to handcuff him after a struggle.

Gonzalez then "continued to scream and flail about" before spitting on two officers, the news release said. Police put him in a spit hood, and transported him to a hospital for evaluation. After he was cleared at the hospital, officers took Gonzalez to Wayne PD Headquarters for processing.

Daly said that Gonzalez "continued his aggressive behavior by spitting all over the processing room and in Officer Thompson’s face." Officers put him in a spit hood again, and took him to the hospital a second time after he reported needing more medical attention.

Medical staff cleared him again, and police transported him to the Passaic County Jail on a complaint warrant pending a detention hearing.

Gonzalez faces two counts of aggravated assault, three counts of throwing bodily fluids at a law enforcement officer, and four counts of criminal mischief, along with charges of resisting arrest, interfering with transportation, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.