Man sought after pepper-spraying officer

The Commerce Police Department has issued arrest warrants for a 42-year-old Commerce man who allegedly emptied a canister of pepper spray into the face of an officer the night of Wednesday, Jan. 25.

Brantley Kip Cowart, 196 Leachman Road, fled the area, but in a tussle with an officer — in which the officer also dropped his firearm — Cowart left behind his wallet, which contained his identification.

Cowart faces charges of felony obstruction, obstruction, attempting to disarm a law enforcement officer and battery on a police officer. As of Tuesday morning, he remained at large.
The event began with a traffic stop at 10:48 p.m. on Baugh Street. An officer pulled over a vehicle driven by Michael Troy Wilburn, 39, 265 Gordon Road, Commerce, for a tag light violation and failure to maintain a lane.

Wilburn pulled over, but according to the incident report, the front-seat passenger exited and fled on foot. The officer gave chase into the back yard of a Bowden Street residence where he said he found Cowart trying to open a locked gate to get out of the fenced back yard.

“I was unable to see his hands, so I drew my duty weapon,” the officer said in the written report of the incident. He ordered Cowart to the ground, but Cowart attempted to climb the fence, the officer continued. The officer attempted to grab Cowart’s clothing to prevent his escape, and to do so tried to re-holster his pistol. However, he missed the holster and the gun fell to the ground. The two struggled, the report said, with the officer getting Cowart at the ground, only to have Cowart get back on his feet as the officer reached for his handcuffs. The officer said Cowart was able to force the officer’s head down, and the officer found himself being sprayed in the eyes, nose and mouth with pepper spray.

Police chief John Gaissert confirmed late Tuesday that Cowart did not use the officer's pepper spray, but had his own canister.

“After emptying the bottle of pepper spray, he began unwrapping sections of my duty belt,” the officer wrote. The officer then released Cowart, withdrew his baton and smacked Cowart above the knee, at which time the suspect fled, the report said. The officer then searched unsuccessfully for his firearm.

The report concluded with the statement that a number of officers — including Jackson County deputies — searched unsuccessfully for Cowart and that the officer eventually found his gun in the vicinity of the struggle. Police recovered Cowart’s wallet, which contained his identification, also in the area of the struggle.

Wilburn also identified his passenger as Cowart. The officer charged Wilburn with driving with a suspended license, failure to maintain a lane and a tag light violation.

After the incident, the officer vomited repeatedly. A medical unit came to the scene and washed his face and eyes to remove the pepper spray.