Man Accused of Assaulting EMT After Being Tossed From State College Bar

A State College man is accused of assaulting an emergency medical technician on the way to the hospital for a potential alcohol overdose after being told to leave a downtown bar early Sunday morning.

Joseph A. Draper, 21, refused staff requests for him to leave Champs Downtown, 139 S. Allen St., and insisted to a borough police officer who responded to the incident that he was of legal drinking age and had done nothing wrong, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Draper was unsteady on his feet and had glassy eyes, and the officer called for Centre LifeLink EMS, which determined Draper needed to be taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center for a conscious alcohol overdose, police wrote.

En route to the hospital, Draper slipped his legs out of stretcher straps and began to kick, swing at and spit on EMTs, according to the affidavit.

He allegedly spit on one EMT’s face, struck her twice in the upper torso and called her a homophobic slur. He also called a Black police officer a racial slur, and told police and medical staff that he “would have their jobs by morning,” according to the affidavit.

Draper, who is listed as a Penn State undergraduate student in the university directory, is charged with one felony count of aggravated assault of a designated individual, three misdemeanor counts of simple assault, three summary counts of harassment and one summary count of public drunkenness.

He was arraigned by District Judge Kelley Gillette-Walker on Sunday afternoon and was unable to post $15,000 bail.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 5.