A man has been charged after police in Iowa said he had refused to put on a mask inside a hospital and then threatened to sneeze on staff members.
Jerad Oldham was arrested at MercyOne Hospital in Newton, a city around 30 miles east of Des Moines, Iowa last week, the Newton Daily News reported.
According to a police report, officers arrived at the hospital shortly after 9.30 p.m. on September 15 after reports that a man was threatening staff and damaging property.
The Daily News reported that staff told police that 40-year-old Oldham had been asked to wear a mask inside the hospital to help limit the spread of coronavirus, but he refused.
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Oldham then allegedly threatened to sneeze in the face of the staff member who had made the request, the police report said.
He also allegedly threatened to fight the staff member, reportedly telling them: “I am not doing anything you ask me to do.”
Oldham yelled at staff members, including telling one to “step back or else someone was going to get hurt,” KETV reported.
The man also allegedly used a racial slur towards a staff member who intervened to de-escalate the situation and continued issuing threats every time that employee approached his hospital room.
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It was not clear why Oldham was at the hospital, but according to the Daily News, he damaged around $150 worth of hospital property during the course of his time there.
After police were called to the hospital, Oldham was arrested and booked into the Jasper County Jail.
He is facing charges including assault on persons in certain occupations and fifth-degree criminal mischief, according to the Daily News. A pre-trial hearing has been set for September 28.
The incident comes after Oldham was arrested earlier this year for blocking an intersection. According to a previous report from the Newton Daily News, police deployed a Taser on Oldham in May after he blocked traffic and refused to move from where he stood in the middle of the intersection.
When officers instructed Oldham to move toward their patrol car, he reportedly told them to shoot him. Officers ultimately used a Taser on Oldham before detaining him.
He was charged with interference with official acts and disorderly conduct-obstruct public way after that incident.
The Newton Police Department and MercyOne Hospital have been contacted for additional comment.
Iowa has more than 80,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, according to the latest figures from the state’s health department. Jasper County, where Newton is located, has 775 positive cases.
