Onalaska Man Runs, Fights With Deputies

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    ONALASKA — An Onalaska man was arrested following an hour-long search Wednesday afternoon that ended with him allegedly releasing a pit bull and assaulting two deputies.

    Deputies Tased 27-year-old Luke Uma Hall multiple times before ultimately using a baton to subdue him in thick brush off of Kruger Road outside of Onalaska.

    Hall was originally wanted for taking a motor vehicle without permission and malicious mischief for allegedly breaking out the windows of the vehicle, according to Chief Criminal Deputy Gene Seiber.

    On Wednesday, deputies responded to a domestic dispute in the Onalaska area and learned that Hall was one of the participants. He fled the residence before deputies arrived, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

    A deputy spotted Hall on Kruger Road after a citizen called to report that a man fitting Hall’s description had asked him for directions, according to the sheriff’s office. The deputy discharged his Taser, but it failed to bring Hall down. He then fled into the woods.

    Deputies began searching for Hall with the help of the county K9 unit at 3:29 p.m. and located him in a thick stand of brush a short time later. Hall then released a pit bull who charged one of the deputies. The deputy fired one shot from his gun into the ground and the dog ran away, according to the sheriff’s office.

    Hall then attempted to flee once more but was tackled by a deputy. Hall struck and kicked both deputies several times, according to the sheriff’s office. The deputies attempted several more direct Taser applications, none of which disabled Hall, according to the sheriff’s office.

    One of the deputies then used his baton to subdue Hall and end the ordeal. Hall was wearing only his underwear and socks when he was arrested, according to the sheriff’s office.



    Seiber wouldn’t speculate whether or not Hall had used drugs before his arrest, but he said it’s odd for the Taser not to bring a suspect down.

    “Usually when a person is in a normal situation, the Taser takes care of them,” Seiber said. “When it doesn’t, you have to wonder.”

    Hall had no shirt or shoes when he was transported from a patrol car into an ambulance just after 4 p.m. His back was streaked with blood, the result of running through blackberry bushes, Seiber said.

    The deputies who brought Hall in were “decompressing” at the scene following the altercation and search, Seiber said. The two deputies who apprehended Hall received minor injuries, according to the sheriff’s office.

    “I’m just happy my guys are OK,”  Seiber said.

    Hall was later released from Providence Centralia Hospital and booked into the Lewis County Jail at approximately 9:55 p.m. for resisting arrest, assault on a police officer and for an outstanding warrant.

    “This is another example of the volatile situations we face on a regular basis,” Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield said in a prepared statement. “In this instance, the multiple applications of the Taser had no effect on the violent suspect which forced the deputies to resort to a higher level of force to subdue Hall. These situations can turn deadly in an instant for a variety of reasons. My deputies did an outstanding job in their response and arrest of Hall.”

    Eric Schwartz: (360) 807-8245