By SHAWN STREET, shawn@virginiamediainc.com
A St. Paul police officer and a member of the Castlewood Fire and Rescue de-partment were injured in an incident on June 17 in St. Paul.
Officials said the officer was injured while apprehending a suspect on Broad Street. The officer was taken to Bristol Regional Medical Center in Bristol, Ten-nessee for treatment.
Castlewood Fire and Rescue also had a member injured in the incident.
That department issued a statement saying, “Castlewood Fire and Rescue did have a member with minor injuries as well. The member is on the way to a local emer-gency department for evaluation. The member is stable at this time and is ex-pected to fully recover.”
The names of the St. Paul officer and the fire and rescue member were not re-leased.
According to officials, the officer was attempting to make an arrest when a scuffle broke out.
Police have charged James Uzzell with driving under the influence, obstruction of justice, possession of a firearm by a felon and assaulting a law enforcement offi-cial.
A second man, Roger Davis, has been charged with obstruction of justice and pub-lic intoxication.
On June 18, St. Paul officials issued a press release that the injured officer was re-leased from the hospital earlier that day. “The officer is doing well and remains in good spirits as recovery continues,” the press release stated.
Town officials also took steps to address confusion and rumors regarding the inci-dent.
“While we cannot discuss specific details due to the ongoing investigation, we can confirm that there was no shooting and no shots were fired during the incident,” the press release stated. “The St. Paul Police Department utilizes the BolaWrap device, a less-lethal tool designed to assist officers in safely taking individuals into custody. When deployed, the device uses a small blank cartridge to propel a re-straint cord and produces a loud sound that can be similar to gunfire. It is possible that this sound contributed to reports of shots being fired.”
The press released concluded by stating, “We would like to extend our sincere ap-preciation to everyone who reached out with kind words, prayers, and support. The outpouring of concern from our community has been truly appreciated by the officer, their family, and our public safety personnel. Thank you for your contin-ued support of the men and women who serve and protect our community.”
