Drunk Driver Assaults Sergeant For Not Letting Her Keep Pet Ferret During Booking

Austintown, OH – An Ohio woman assaulted an Austintown police officer on Saturday night when he wouldn’t let her keep her pet ferret in the police station with her.

The incident occurred at about 1:20 a.m. on April 9 when officers responded to the report of a car wreck in the 5200-block of 76 Drive, WKBN reported.

Officers arrived on the scene and found a car that had run off the end of the road and crashed into several trees.

The driver, 27-year-old Kendall Sparks, told officers she was driving home to Hubbard from a friend’s house in Austintown, according to WKBN.

The police report said Sparks smelled of alcohol and had slurred speech.

She told police that she had only had two beers and was asked to do a field sobriety test, WKBN reported.

Sparks couldn’t complete the roadside tests so she was taken into custody for driving under the influence.

Police allowed her to bring along her pet ferret that was in her car with her when she crashed, WKBN report.

But when they got to the police station, Sparks agreed to take a blood test and recorded a blood alcohol content of .221, according to the police report.

The police report said that Sparks was still holding her ferret when she began yelling at an Austintown police sergeant and accused him of “giving her attitude,” WKBN reported.

That was when the sergeant told her that her ferret was going to have to stay in the carport while she was processed.

Sparks got in the sergeant’s face and started yelling, according to the police report.

She spit in the sergeant’s face and yelled as she waved a finger at him, WKBN reported.

The sergeant handcuffed Sparks to a bench and she pushed him away and kicked him multiple times, WFMJ reported.

Sparks was ultimately transported to St. Elizabeth Health Center to be evaluated for injuries from the crash, WKBN reported.

When she was cleared, she was booked into the Mahoning County and charged with assault on a police officer and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.

Sparks was scheduled for arraignment on Monday, WKBN reported.

The police report said the ferret was turned over to a humane agent for Animal Charity.