AGAWAM — An Agawam man is facing felony assault charges after allegedly attacking two police officers with pepper spray designed to stop grizzly bears. Ronald Siegert, 62, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Westfield District Court to two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. The charges were filed late Tuesday after Agawam police responded to River Vista apartments on Main Street following complaints about loud music and yelling coming from Siegerts’s apartment, according to the arrest report. Moments after police knocked on the door, Siegert stepped outside and sprayed the officers twice at close range with a brand of pepper spray designed to deter attacks by grizzly bears, the report said. “The chemical agent had an immediate effect,” causing eye irritation and breathing difficulty for both officers, Officer Brian Scott-Smith wrote in the report. In response, Scott-Smith aimed his Taser at the suspect and shot him in the upper chest and lower abdomen. Siegert immediately dropped to the ground, where he was handcuffed and arrested, the report said. By then, the pepper spray had spread to neighboring apartments. The Agawam Fire Department eventually cleared all tenants from the building, the report said. A spray canister labeled “Counter Assault Bear Deterrent (Grizzly Tough Pepper Spray)” was seized as evidence. A warning label on the canister reads “not for use on humans.” Following his arraignment, Siegert was released on $2,000 personal surety, and ordered to report once a week to his probation officer. A native of Pittsburgh, Siegert is single and… [Read full story]
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