Suspect facing charges for assaulting police officer

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- A man accused of assaulting a Zanesville Police Officer over the weekend is now facing charges.

It started off as a normal shift for one Zanesville Officer,  but it didn’t quite end that way. Saturday night, the Officer, who is unnamed at this time, responded to a call for a fight outside of Just One More Bar on Linden Avenue. Once there he tried to stop the fight and was assaulted instead.

“Upon the first arrivals, the first officers arrival he immediately saw two people engaged in a fight. When he went over to apparently, you know, try to break that up, that kind of turned on him; and one of the subjects then assaulted our officer,” said Chief Tony Coury of the Zanesville Police Department.

Police arrested 45-year-old Brian Nichols of Zanesville at the scene. The Muskingum County Prosecutor’s Office has filed charges and Nichols is expected to appear in court later this week.

“And you know, at that time they determined there was enough probable cause to ahead and charge Brian Nichols with one count of felonious assault. Brian Nichols is a repeat offender so he was charged as a repeated violent offender,” said Coury.

The officer injured his leg during the assault and is currently on leave until he is medically cleared. At this time investigators are not pursuing a second suspect.