Mark Lilley

A Butler man remains behind bars on charges that he struck a city police officer during a weekend altercation on Race Street.

Mark A. Lilley, 27, is accused of felony assault for allegedly striking Patrolman Michael Sulerud in the face with an open hand late Sunday night. He is in the Butler County Prison on $75,000 bail while awaiting a hearing next week.

Police said they were called to Race Street around 10:50 p.m. for a fight between two men, neither of which was Lilley. But the defendant eventually showed up and “demanded to know what was going on,” according to charging documents.

Officers asked him to leave. Instead, police said, he became “aggressive and combative by screaming and (clenching) his fists.”

Documents noted that police suspected Lilley had been drinking alcohol. He was searched for weapons and asked — then ordered — to sit on the curb.

When he allegedly refused, Sulerud tried to place him on the curb, documents said. The defendant allegedly “spun around and struck” the side of the officer's head with his hand.

Lilley is accused of taking an “aggressive fighting stance,” after which police tackled him. But while on the ground, police said, he continued to “swing his arms and fight with officers.”

On Monday, District Judge Kevin O'Donnell arraigned Lilley on charges of aggravated assault, resisting arrest and public drunkenness.

His preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 10 at the office of District Judge William Fullerton. Online court records did not list an attorney for Lilley.