Joshua Eck

SLIPPERY ROCK — Police said they had to use a Taser on a man after he resisted borough officers who were called to his home for a weekend domestic dispute.

But even after being zapped Saturday night, 34-year-old Joshua E. Eck wrestled with police, leaving Chief Terry Fedokovitz with an injured left hand.

Police eventually arrested Eck, who was later arraigned on a felony charge of aggravated assault and misdemeanor charges of simple assault and resisting arrest.

He also faces summary charges of harassment and disorderly conduct. He was placed in the Butler County Prison on $30,000 bail following arraignment.

Fedokovitz and police Lt. Perry Petricca went to Eck's home on West Cooper Street about 1:25 a.m. for a report of a man hitting a woman, authorities said. The woman turned out to be Eck's sister.

The officers found the defendant standing at the back door.

But when Eck refused to get on the ground for police to handcuff him, according to court documents, Fedokovitz warned the suspect that he was going to use his Taser.

The defendant, however, began to fight the officers, police said.

Fedokovitz said he “drive stunned” Eck on the right side his body. Drive stunning generally refers to placing a Taser directly against a person's body, rather than using a cartridge to fire darts or probes.

Still, the defendant continued to resist, documents said. Again, Fedokovitz tried to drive stun the suspect.

“(Eck) flung his arms and my Taser went flying into the yard,” the chief said in his affidavit.

Petricca wrestled with the defendant for about three minutes before he was placed in cuffs. Petricca apparently was not hurt.

Eck's preliminary hearing is set Dec. 12 at the office of District Judge Bill O'Donnell in Slippery Rock.

Fedokovitz on Tuesday described his injuries as minor. They did not require medical treatment and he missed no time on the job.