Man arrested for allegedly assaulting officer

POST FALLS - A 52-year-old wanted man from Post Falls was arrested Friday night for allegedly assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.

David Lee Melton Jr. was booked into the Kootenai County jail for battery on an officer, obstructing and for being wanted on a $10,000 warrant for using a telephone to harass people. He's being held on a combined $35,000 bond.

Officers responded to a home in the 1700 block of north Summer Rose Street at 8:46 p.m. after Melton called 911 and sounded angry before the call was disconnected, police say.

A dispatcher told officers Melton had identified himself and that he was wanted.

Police set up a perimeter around the home, including a K9 unit due to Melton's violent past.

Melton opened the door after an officer rang the door bell, and the suspect quickly tried shutting it when he learned it was police, according to a police report.

"I grabbed hold of the door frame with one hand and a fist full of his sweatshirt with another in attempt to pull him out," the officer wrote in his report.

The officer said Melton attempted to hit him in the face with a closed fist, but hit his shoulder instead.

After Melton continued to show signs of aggression, he was struck in the thigh with an expandable baton but continued to resist, police said.

Another officer applied a stun gun to Melton's lower back, but he continued to try to go back inside the home and resisted.

A K9 unit was then deployed to assist officers in getting Melton onto the ground and under control, the report states.

Melton was transported to Kootenai Health to receive stitches over his right eye for bite wounds from the K9.

An officer received minor injuries during the altercation, the report states.