Monday, May 21, 2018

Hearing set for Joplin man charged with felony assault for dragging police officer behind motorcycle


A hearing for a Joplin man charged with felony assault on a law enforcement officer is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday in Jasper County Circuit Court.

Paul Haney, 21, allegedly assaulted Joplin Police Sgt. Rusty Rives, now Lamar police chief, on August 27, 2016.

The crime was described in a JPD news release.

On Saturday, 08-27-2016 at approximately 1:00 AM, Sgt. Rusty Rives observed two motorcycles eastbound on 32nd St. from Wisconsin Avenue.

The motorcycles were going one-hundred and twenty-four miles per hour. (124 mph.) The two motorcyclists were recognized as subjects that officers had multiple interactions with, wherein they taunt the police in order to attempt to prompt a pursuit.

Later into the shift, Sgt. Rives again observed the motorcycles traveling north on Main St. from 32nd St. when Paul G. Haney drove into oncoming traffic at a southbound police unit.





Sgt. Rives waited on foot at 15th and Main St. Upon their return they were stopped at the light and Sgt. Rives, on foot, approached Haney.

Sgt. Rives attempted to take Haney into custody. Once Rives grabbed Haney’s hoody. He became entangled in it as Haney took off at a high rate of speed. Haney dragged Sgt. Rives several feet. As a result, Sgt. Rives’ shoulder was dislocated.

Sgt. Rives transported himself to the hospital where he was treated and released.

Multiple agencies, including Missouri State Highway Patrol, Jasper County Sheriff’s Office and Newton Country Sheriff’s Office assisted in locating Haney.

The Jasper County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against Haney for Felony Assault on Law Enforcement and a warrant was issued with a $5,000 bond.

On Sunday, August 28, 2016, Haney was arrested by the Newton County Sheriff’s Office.


At the time Haney was arrested, he was facing felony drug charges in Jasper County Circuit Court. Those charges were apparently dropped.

3 comments:

Dusty Roads said...

The officer sounds like a real knot head

Anonymous said...

Yep so does the suspect

Unknown said...

I've seen him in my store. He used to be a nice kid. He used to buy lots of candy from us.