Centralia man charged, accused of assaulting officers in a church

A man accused of assaulting two police officers at a Centralia church Saturday has been charged in Boone County with two counts of assault and one count of resisting arrest.

Officers were called Saturday afternoon around 4:00 p.m. for reports of a man refusing to leave the First Baptist Church sanctuary.

According to the probable cause statement, 34-year-old Jonathan Griffin refused to leave the church even though officers said the “church did not want him” there.

According to Scott Westfall, the youth and families pastor, Griffin was regularly hanging around outside and was welcome inside Monday through Friday as long as they knew about it.

“We didn’t see it as a threat or anything<" said Westfall. "We just let him know, if this is his safe place, just let us know you're here. He didn't want to comply with those orders."

Griffin allegedly walked toward the officer and got “too close,” so the officer put his hand on his chest to step back. That’s when the officer said Griffin jumped toward him and tried to put him in a headlock.

The other officer on scene tried to deploy a Taser on Griffin, but it did not work. Griffin approached the second officer and tried to put him in a headlock, the officer said. The Taser was deployed a second time, but Griffin removed it, according to the officer.

Then, court documents indicate the first officer used pepper spray on Girffin, which didn’t affect him. Griffin said he had a hammer and baseball bat, but didn’t attempt to use them. The officers used pepper spray again, but the fumes were so strong they had to leave.

Griffin escaped, but was caught three blocks away by officers with the Hallsville Police Department and Boone County Sheriff’s deputies, according to authorities.

Centralia police Chief Larry Dudgeon said there was also a youth group there at the time that had to escape to another room.

Centralia police recommended additional charges of trespassing, child endangerment and burglary. The Boone County prosecuting attorney’s office said those charges are currently under review.

Griffin is being held without bond. According to the probable cause statement, it’s because he made threats to the leaders of the church and had trespassed there before.