Homeless Woman Tased After Being Accused Of Spitting, Causing A Scene At Concord Diner

CONCORD, NH — A homeless woman now located in Concord was Tased earlier this month after an incident at a local diner and apartment complex on the Heights.

Around 3:15 p.m. on Oct. 10, officers were sent to the Red Arrow Diner at 112 Loudon Road for a report of an unwanted guest. An employee told dispatch there was a woman inside the restaurant spitting, hitting walls, and causing a scene, and advised “she believed the female was on drugs,” an affidavit said. A description of the woman was given to dispatch, with the complainant also stating she was not wearing shoes.

As officers arrived, they learned she was walking on Christian Avenue and was “taking decorations out of people’s yard” and throwing them on the ground and at vehicles, the report stated.

As the reporting officer went to the Concord Gardens apartment complex area, three people were nearby and pointed down the road.

“She’s over there,” one of them said.

The officer drove east on Christian Avenue and found the woman, later identified as Dezirae Decato, 35, outside of one of the apartments, the report stated. She was accused of “erratically moving her arms” and was “unable to walk straight.” Another officer arrived, and they spoke with Decato, who had spit on the side of her face, pinpoint pupils, was making uncontrollable movements with her body, had clenched fist, was blowing mucus out of her nose, and was making growling noises, the affidavit said.

The officer believed the woman was high on methamphetamine.

The officer said Decato began talking about her hat, claiming the officer “stole her sister.” The officer asked where she was from, and she said it was none of the officer’s business since “you know my grandparents,” the report said. The officer also asked if she had taken anything, and she was accused of ignoring the question several times.

The officer determined since she was a danger to herself and others and was not providing any information, so Decato was taken into protective custody. The officer attempted to put her into handcuffs, and she was accused of refusing to comply. A second officer joined the first and took Decato to the ground, but the reporting officer dropped their handcuffs. The officers struggled with her as she tucked her arm to the front of her body and was warned she would be Tased if she did not stop, an affidavit stated. Decato, however, began screaming and tensed her arms.

The officer then deployed their Taser and dry-stunned Decato on the small of her lower back. After that, she complied and was placed in cuffs, the report stated.

As she was brought to an upright position, she continued to blow much out of her nose and turned toward the second officer, almost as if she was going to spit on them, the affidavit said. The reporting officer then moved her away from the second officer.

During a search, the reporting officer found a glass pipe with burnt residue in her pocket.

Decato was placed inside a cruiser and was accused of yelling and thrashing her body around while inside.

A third officer approached the scene and informed the reporting officer that the hat Decato was wearing was part of a Halloween decoration display and was stolen off the front lawn of a nearby home. The hat was estimated to cost $20. The report stated she also damaged an outdoor light on another home. Another witness accused her of throwing a chair into the street.

At the diner, the employee also accused Decato of ripping down a sign on the wall and yelling inside the business. Another employee claimed she went into a restroom, turned on the water, and began splashing water everywhere, the report stated. Decato “was yelling as well and had taken her shoes off while she was inside,” the report said. Afterward, she left the bathroom and was screaming inside the diner, which caused patrons to stop eating and look at her, the employee stated.

Ultimately, Decato was charged with receiving stolen property, a felony, due to two prior convictions, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest or detention. Due to her demeanor, she was taken straight to county.

The reporting officer said, after arriving there, corrections officers escorted her to a booking area and she became combative again.

“The officers had to bring her to the ground as she continued to thrash and kick her legs,” the officer wrote. “I attempted to get a booking photo of Dezirae, however, she kept punching the glass door and giving me the middle finger.”

Decato was also accused of calling the officer “a bitch.”

According to superior court records, Decato was first arrested on an arson charge in June 2011 in Manchester. She was held on $10,000 cash bail. About nine months later, the charge was nolle prossed.

About a decade later, she was charged with felony acts prohibited in Loudon. In March 2023, she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and received a 12-month sentence and $434 fine suspended for three years.

Decato was charged with drug possession in July 2023 in Concord. The case is still active with a status conference in November.

In January, she was arrested on a felony drug possession charge in Concord, a case that is still open and scheduled to go to a jury in December.

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