An Olympia man with “a history of violent behavior towards officers” was charged after allegedly trespassing and later assaulting law enforcement while resisting arrest.
Kenneth M. Stenek, 36, is being held at the Thurston County Jail for third-degree assault, second-degree criminal trespass, and resisting arrest, jail records show. The Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney charged him on May 16.
Stenek was arrested on May 11 after a reported liquor violation on the property of the Olympia Federal Savings Bank. A search of The JOLT's Police Blotter shows that Stenek has been arrested 21 times, mostly in Olympia, since May 2020.
An employee told dispatchers that there were several people, including a man later identified as Stenek, drinking alcohol while seated on the benches in front of the bank.
A responding officer sought assistance before contacting Stenek, noting that the suspect has been violent with police in the past. The officer said the unarmed Olympia Crisis Response Unit declined to respond because Stenek recently assaulted their staff.
Police later approached Stenek and two other individuals at the bank bench to inform them that they needed to go. An officer said the suspect was drinking beer when they approached.
Stenek repeatedly told the officers to “f*ck off” and “get the f*ck off my property,” according to the police report. Two more officers arrived to assist.
Police spoke with a bank employee who confirmed that the benches were the bank’s property. The employee said they wanted Stenek to leave and would press charges for trespassing if he refused.
An officer said Stenek refused to leave despite repeated warnings, giving police probable cause to arrest him for trespassing.
When an officer grabbed Stenek’s right arm to arrest him, the suspect crushed his beer can and threw the contents into the officer’s face, the report read. The officer said his arm and uniform “were splattered in beer.”
Police took down Stenek and eventually handcuffed him despite his resistance. Officers then moved to apply a wrap restraint due to the suspect’s behavior, but Stenek “continued to resist, twisting his body, and flexing against our attempts to move him into a seated position to apply the wrap,” an officer wrote.
After Stenek was successfully restrained, he was brought to Thurston County Jail.
3 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
bobkat
".... Olympia Crisis Response Unit declined to respond ...." Yep! When a "situation" needs to be handled it sure is nice to be able to pick-and-choose when, where, and with whom you work. Maybe the PD and the FD can start "choosing" to respond (or not) based on whether (or not) a member of their departments was injured, killed or "dissed."
Friday, May 20, 2022 Report this
Given Stenek's record of violence against police, it was a good call by the Olympia CRU to not deal with him. Stenek, wasn't actively violent against anyone while on the bench, and CRU personnel do not deal directly with violent situations. CRU is housed within the Olympia Police Dept, so they can call for such help when needed.
Saturday, May 21, 2022 Report this
bobkat
@ gracegrace - - - SO... you're saying that it's quite all right for the personnel of a "responder" government entity to "screen" their assignments before they decide to respond to them? It would be nice to be able to "pick and choose" the jobs you are given based on what you perceive to be their risk to you. What they SHOULD be required to do is - respond first - evaluate the situation - and THEN (if needed) call for appropriate support (i.e.: ambulance - fire department or (GASP) even the police. Evaluating people/situations is what they're supposed to being paid to do!
Sunday, May 22, 2022 Report this