Newport Man Charged after Pulling Knife on Cop

Newport police charged 20-year-old Kevin Linnel Walaski, of 20 Chapel St., with disorderly conduct after he drew a knife during an altercation with a police officer Wednesday night.

Police said officers were dispatched to Chapel Street at around 11:55 p.m. for a report of a disturbance.

Police said they came upon a crowd of about 40 people yelling and arguing. As officers tried to clear the scene, Walaski reportedly approached an officer and refused to clear the scene.

Walaski reportedly became aggressive towards the officer and had his hand in his pocket.

After Walaski refused to follow commands, he allegedly took a fighting stance and made the officer believe that he was going to assault him.

The officer then attempted to strike Walaski with a closed fist to avoid being assaulted, but Walaski dodged the swing. The officer drew his taser and saw Walaski had taken his hand out of his pocket and was carrying a red and silver folding knife.

A crowd of people got in between Walaski and the officer and he soon fled into the nearby apartment building.

Walaski was eventually arrested after he was ordered out of the apartment by police, who spent some time at the scene getting the situation cleared.

Walaski was held overnight for arraignment Thursday.