Update: Charges on hold for EMS assaulter | Crime

Charges are on hold for a patient who assaulted an ambulance driver north of Colfax. Jason Hundrup, 41, was being transported to Eastern State Hospital over the weekend when he bit the driver following a struggle. Hundrup escaped the ambulance and was later found by law enforcement hiding under a bridge.

Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers says they put the charges on hold because they felt it was in the county’s best interest to continue seeking treatment for his mental condition. They’ll explore criminal charges once he’s stabilized. Myers added that Hundrup was medically cleared when he was eventually transported to Eastern State Hospital on Monday night.

The patient was unrestrained when Clarkston Fire paramedics picked him up at Tri-State Memorial Hospital on Sunday and they kept him that way during the transport.

The Asotin resident has a small record of domestic violence, threatening and trespassing misdemeanors in Asotin County. Sheriff Ken Bancroft says Hundrup has an officer safety flag on him because he’s acted out in the past. The flag means responding deputies are aware of this and are careful contacting him. That’s a detail Clarkston fire chief Steve Cooper says he didn’t know when his responders picked up Hundrup from Tri-State, but they understood the nature of the patient they were transporting.

Bancroft added that Hundrup has been a complainant and violator on past calls depending on which side of the fence he’s on: “He’s been a guest in my jail a couple of times.”