A 58-year-old Florida man was arrested Thursday at WakeMed on New Bern Avenue in Raleigh, facing charges after an encounter in which he is accused of grabbing a police officer's gun from its holster and injuring a hospital security worker during a violent struggle. James Joseph Pope now faces four separate charges stemming from the encounter, according to warrants filed in the case.
WakeMed’s Raleigh campus is the hospital system’s flagship and includes a Level I Trauma Center. WakeMed says it is Wake County’s only provider of trauma services, with trauma centers in Raleigh and Cary serving seriously injured patients. The New Bern Avenue campus is therefore both a major regional emergency-care facility and the setting for the arrest described in the warrants. WakeMed’s description of its trauma centers outlines that role.
Pope faces charges of resisting a public officer, assault causing physical injury to emergency personnel, disorderly conduct, and assaulting a government official, according to WRAL. The warrants accuse him of assaulting a hospital security worker by grabbing her with his hand, causing cuts to her skin and bleeding. According to the warrants, the security officer had been trying to get hospital workers to restrain Pope at the time of the alleged assault.
North Carolina law specifically includes hospital security personnel among workers covered by G.S. 14-34.6. If an assault causing physical injury is committed against covered personnel while they are performing official duties, the statute classifies it as a Class I felony; it provides higher felony classes for serious bodily injury or use of a weapon. The allegations in the warrants have not been proven, and the law’s elements would have to be established in court. The statute’s provisions for hospital security personnel set out those classifications.
Violent Scene at North Hills Hotel Preceded Arrest
The warrants state that Pope caused a violent scene the day before, Wednesday, in the lobby of the Hilton Raleigh North Hills, where he is accused of yelling and using racial comments toward hotel staff and police officers. The hotel incident occurred a day before Pope's Thursday arrest at the hospital.
The warrants accuse Pope of grabbing a Raleigh police officer's firearm from its holster when the officer tried to arrest him, one of the most serious allegations laid out in the charging documents.
Officers Describe Struggle During Arrest
He is also accused of lying down on the ground while being placed under arrest, balling up his fist, and attempting to kick police officers, according to the warrants.
Pope's bond was set at $2,000, and he was scheduled to appear in court Thursday at 1:30 p.m. The warrants' allegations have not been proven in court, and no information is available on the outcome of that scheduled appearance.
What North Carolina Law Says About Resisting Officers
Under North Carolina General Assembly statute G.S. 14-223, a person who willfully and unlawfully resists, delays, or obstructs a public officer performing or attempting to discharge a duty of their office is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.
