Marshall man charged after allegedly going after Columbia officer’s gun

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Boone County prosecutors have charged a Marshall man with second-degree assault and resisting arrest after he allegedly tried to take a Columbia police officer's gun.

Police say they were sent to a call late Thursday of a man blocking the road in the 2400 block of East Broadway with thrown items. When an officer arrived they found Malachi N. Benton, 24, throwing objects into the street and Benton attacked the officer, according to a Columbia Police Department news release.

The officer used a stun gun but Benton kept coming, according to a probable cause statement filed in the case. The officer tried to force Benton into a patrol vehicle and Benton tried to get the gun while they wrestled on the ground, the statement says. He tried unsuccessfully to spray Benton with pepper spray, according to the account.

Benton got up and ran when another officer arrived and police found him near Hinkson Creek in the area of Broadway Bluffs, police say.

Benton and the first officer were taken to a hospital for evaluation but were not injured, CPD said in the news release.

Benton was in the Boone County Jail on Friday on a $100,000 bond. No court dates were listed in online court records.