His face broke the fall.
Via TFP:
A man allegedly pepper-sprayed a Chattanooga police officer after being caught breaking into a vehicle at an apartment complex not far from the downtown police precinct on New Year’s Day, according to records.
Justin Conner, 32, was spotted trying to break into a silver Jeep Wrangler in a parking area near the Douglas Heights apartments at 930 Douglas St. at around midnight on Tuesday, according to court documents. That’s about two blocks away from the downtown Chattanooga police station.
The person who saw Conner called police, and when officers arrived, they saw him trying to walk away from the driver’s side of the Jeep while carrying a green backpack and a jacket, court records show.
A police officer met Conner at the hood of the vehicle, but Conner continued to walk away.
The officer told Conner to drop what he was carrying and to put his hands on the hood of the patrol car, and Conner still did not comply, court records state.
At that point, the officer pushed Conner toward the hood of the patrol car, court records show. That is when Conner pushed back and reached over his shoulder, grabbed a pepper spray container and sprayed the officer in the face, authorities said.
Conner broke free and continued to spray the officer as he walked around to the other side of the patrol car.
After unsuccessfully trying to grab Conner, the officer deployed his stun gun. Conner fell forward to the ground and hit his head, according to court documents.