Bail has been set at $250,000 for a man accused of trying to take a Chehalis police officer’s firearm while resisting arrest on an indecent exposure charge on Friday, Aug. 18.
“The facts are very concerning and demonstrate his capacity to be violent,” Deputy Prosecutor Scott Jackson said of the defendant, Nathan G. Kloecker, 37, of Centralia, during a preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court on Monday, Aug. 21.
“He denies, of course, any wrongdoing,” defense attorney Rachael Tiller said of Kloeker, adding Kloeker was “frustrated” by the charges.
Kloecker was arrested shortly after 12:05 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 18, after officers with the Chehalis Police Department responded to a report that a male, who was later identified as Kloecker, was walking with his “hands down his pants with his pants with his penis out” in the area of 20th Street Southwest, according to police call logs. At the time, Kloecker was reportedly “yelling and walking toward the Chehalis Middle School.”
An officer who recognized Kloecker as the suspect contacted him on Southwest Salsbury Avenue. When told there were reports of him exposing himself, Kloecker allegedly “reached towards his pants line.” When told to stop and that he was under arrest, Kloecker allegedly “turned and ran, and a short foot pursuit ensued,” according to documents filed in Lewis County Superior Court.
The pursuit ended when Kloecker allegedly “stopped, turned and struck (the officer) in the chest with his right fist,” according to court documents. The officer deployed his Taser and “continued to grapple with Mr. Kloecker in an attempt to get him to the ground,” according to court documents.
A Chehalis detective soon arrived to assist the officer. During the struggle, Klopecker allegedly grabbed the detective’s firearm “but was unable to remove it from his holster,” according to court documents. The detective reportedly “had to deliver several closed fist strikes to Mr. Kloecker to break his grip on the firearm.” Kloeker then allegedly removed the magazine from the gun and “swung it” at the detective, according to court documents.
The officer and the detective “successfully removed the magazine from Mr. Kloeker’s hand” and the detective secured his right arm, but Kloeker allegedly “continued to ignore commands and kept his right arm underneath his body” until the officer deployed his Taser a second time.
“The Taser was successful and Mr. Kloecker immediately placed his right arm behind his back and was handcuffed,” according to court documents.
Jail records indicate Kloecker was booked into the Lewis County Jail at 12:20 p.m. on Aug. 18.
He has since been charged with one count each of second-degree assault, third-degree assault, attempted disarming a law enforcement officer and indecent exposure.
Tiller informed the court Monday that, while Kloecker denied the allegations, he had told her “this could have been a lack of medication issue.”
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 24.
