Whitney M. Woodworth

Statesman Journal

A lit cigarette allegedly thrown by a woman outside the Silverton Community Swimming Pool sparked a chain of events — giving a fake name, grabbing for an officer's gun and squeezing another officer's genitals — that led to her arrest Thursday afternoon, officials said.

A Silverton police officer said he saw Megan Frays, 25, of Salem, toss a cigarette while she was sitting in a car parked outside the city pool.

A probable cause statement from the responding officer gave the following account:

Frays told the officer her name was Margaret Fitzhenry. The officer, who recognized Frays, informed her he knew her name was not Margaret, and she could be arrested for giving false information to police.

She asserted her name was Margaret. When the officer tried to arrest Frays, she refused to get out of her car. She pulled away from the officer and reached for her passenger seat, ignoring the officer's commands to show her hands.

"With the assistance from other officers (Frays) was forcefully removed from the vehicle," according to the statement.

She continued to pull away, push the police officers and threatened to bite the officers. When they forced her to the ground, she dropped a knife, then began kicking and spitting on the officers.

While one of the officers tried to secure her in the patrol car, she first grasped the handle of his service pistol. When he forced her to release the gun, she grabbed another officer's genitals and squeezed. The injured officer described the pain as a five on a scale from one to 10 and said the pain lingered for about two hours.

Officers were able to handcuff Frays and take her to Marion County jail. She was booked on charges of offensive littering, giving false information to police, interfering with a police officer, resisting arrest and assaulting an officer.

Frays, who was convicted of disorderly conduct in 2013 and arrested on DUI and disorderly conduct charges in 2015, was released Friday. She is scheduled to appear for a hearing at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 6 at the Marion County Circuit Court Annex.

Email wmwoodwort@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-399-6884 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth

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