On June 19, a Tupelo police officer made a traffic stop on a vehicle on South Gloster Street for multiple traffic violations.
When the vehicle came to a stop, the driver immediately exited the vehicle and became verbally aggressive with the officer.
The officer then gave the driver instructions to return to his vehicle and the driver then drove a short distance through a private parking lot.
The driver then stopped and exited the vehicle again. As the officer was approaching the suspect, he observed a firearm on the dash of the vehicle.
As the officer attempted to apprehend the suspect, the suspect tried multiple times to place the officer in a headlock.
The officer was then able to handcuff the suspect. While seated in the officer’s patrol car, the suspect began striking the patrol car divider with his head.
The officer immediately attempted to seatbelt the suspect into the vehicle to prevent injury to the suspect and while doing so the suspect head-butted the officer.
43-year-old William E. Westmoreland (from Tupelo) was taken into custody by the Tupelo Police Department and charged with Simple Assault on A Police Officer and Felony Possession Of A Controlled Substance.
Tupelo Municipal Court Judge Weir set Westmoreland’s bond at $20,000. These charges will be presented to the Lee County Grand Jury.
