A Walnutport man has been charged with assaulting police officers.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by Sgt. Phil Mirabile of the Lehigh Township Police Department in the case against Stephon Odom:

At 2:50 p.m. Sept. 1, Mirabile was dispatched to the area of Chestnut Drive and Almond Road after the caller, Odom, 26, told Northampton County Dispatch that he had assaulted a police officer and was in trouble.

Odom said that he had a knife and was going to stab someone in the eye. Mirabile then advised the dispatcher to contact a group home on Almond to determine if one of its residents was missing.

Mirabile determined that Odom was from the group home and told a staff member to contact county crisis to request a possible commitment.

A staff member standing at Chestnut and Almond told Mirabile that Odom was refusing to return to the group home, and every time she approached him he walked farther away.

Mirabile activated his body camera and recorded the incident.

Odom continued to walk toward Mirabile despite being ordered several times by the officer to stop.

When he was within 10 to 15 feet, Odom began to place his hand in his pocket and then ran toward Mirabile, who retreated behind his vehicle in case Odom had a knife.

Odom walked down the road, sat down next to a utility pole and refused to talk. He then stood up and walked back toward police, pulled his cellphone from his pocket and smashed it on Mirabile’s patrol vehicle.

He was handcuffed and checked for weapons. Mirabile asked Odom several times what police could do for him and he spit on Mirabile’s uniform pants.

Odom started kicking the officer and spit toward his face while the officer was restraining him.

Another group home staff member said she spoke with county crisis, and the situation was a police problem, not a mental health problem.

Mirabile asked Odom if he wanted to go to the hospital or group home; he told Mirabile that he wanted to go to jail.

Mirabile asked Odom why he wanted to be transported to jail, and Odom told him that he eats better there.

Mirabile also asked Odom if he knew that spitting on an officer was a felony. The suspect said he did, having read it in a law book.

Odom faces two counts of assault of a law enforcement officer, a felony; a count of simple assault, a misdemeanor; and three counts of harassment and one count of disorderly conduct, which are summary offenses.

He is jailed in the Northampton County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday before District Judge Robert A. Hawke of Walnutport.