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ROOSEVELT — A donation account has been set up to help a part-time Roosevelt police officer whose cheekbone was broken while he was attempting to detain a man.
Tim Mellor, who works as a reserve police officer for the city of Roosevelt, was one of two officers who initially responded to a domestic disturbance on April 17, according to Roosevelt Police Chief Rick Harrison.
Mellor stopped a vehicle that was leaving the area near 1080 S. State and was immediately confronted by the driver, Harrison said.
"Patrick Taveapont exited the vehicle and approached officer Mellor in an aggressive manner," the chief said, adding that Taveapont told Mellor to shoot him "because he wasn't going to comply with officers."
Mellor said Taveapont rushed him and began punching him in the face. Because he is a part-time officer, Mellor was not issued a Taser. He also did not have pepper spray.
"I'd used it on vicious animals and was out. I hadn't bought more yet," said Mellor, who added that he bought the pepper spray with his own money for his other part-time job as acting police chief for the city of Myton.
Without any other means of defending himself, Mellor said he began to unholster his gun.
I knew I had to end it because I had almost no more fight left in me.
–Tim Mellor
"I knew I had to end it," he said, "because I had almost no more fight left in me."
Mellor never finished drawing his gun though. An off-duty Uintah County sheriff's deputy who lives in the neighborhood and two other people intervened and helped him gain control of Taveapont.
Taveapont, 27, was booked into the Duchesne County Jail and has been charged in 8th District Court with assault on a police officer, a third-degree felony. He is also charged with assault, interfering with an arrest and damaging a communication device, all class B misdemeanors; as well as two misdemeanor traffic offenses and one count of intoxication, a class C misdemeanor.
Mellor was taken to Uintah Basin Medical Center, where he said X-rays showed that his left cheekbone had been broken in four places. He is scheduled to undergo surgery Monday to repair the damage.
The cost of the surgery should be covered because the injury happened on the job, Mellor said, but he will be unable to work for Roosevelt or Myton during the six-week recovery period.
The 10-78 Utah Foundation, an organization that raises funds for officers injured in the line of duty, is planning a fundraiser to help pay for Mellor's expenses. Those who wish to donate can visit the 10-78 Utah Foundation's Facebook page.
Harrison said his department gives reserve officers a uniform and equipment allowance — money that can be used to buy pepper spray and other less than lethal weapons. The department is also exploring a way to supply its reserve force with Tasers, the chief said.
*KSL.com does not assure that the monies deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
