An Olympia woman was charged with a felony and a gross misdemeanor after allegedly damaging a restaurant window and later assaulting an officer who responded to the initial incident.
Elizabeth Mae Graham, 29, was charged with third-degree assault and third-degree malicious mischief by the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney on June 17.
Olympia police arrested Graham on June 14 after reports of disorderly conduct in the 200 block of Fourth Avenue E.
The owner of Cascadia Grill told police that a woman, later identified as Graham, grabbed one of the restaurant’s patio chairs and began slamming it on the ground and throwing it onto the road.
She said she asked the suspect to stop, but Graham ignored her and kept screaming and throwing the chair around.
The suspect then dropped the chair and punched one of the restaurant’s windows and breaking it, the owner said. Graham walked off shortly.
The owner added that Graham ran toward her while holding the chair on two separate occasions. She said she retreated into the restaurant to get away.
A restaurant employee also told police that she saw a woman yelling while throwing a chair outside, as well as running toward the business owner with the chair in hand.
Two officers contacted Graham on the corner of Capitol Way and Fourth Avenue. The suspect was “yelling and flailing her arms around, punching windows on the business at the corner of the intersection,” one officer wrote in his report.
An officer asked Graham to stop, and the suspect responded by spitting on him. The spit landed on the officer’s hat and uniform.
The other officer said he grabbed Graham’s wrist when she started walking away, at which point she punched the chest of the officer she spat on. He was not injured.
Police managed to take down Graham, but the suspect continued flailing on the ground, prompting a physical struggle with the two officers.
One of the officers said a large crowd began to form around them, with bystanders voicing concern for Graham.
One witness was upset about the lack of crisis response officers on the scene, and about there being so many officers holding down Graham. The witness said she did not see the officers use force on the suspect.
Graham was eventually placed into a restraint system. The suspect was evaluated and given clearance to go to jail.
She refused to give the police her identity but later stated her name was Elizabeth Graham. An officer said there was no record of this name.
The suspect was booked into the Thurston County Jail for third-degree assault.
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