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Officer’s earlobe bitten off in bus melee, police say

Updated March 24, 2023 - 10:47 am

A violent bus passenger bit off the earlobe of a police officer during a standoff that escalated into a fight with officers on an RTC bus, according to an arrest report.

The passenger, Allyn McFarland, 29, of Las Vegas, faces numerous charges after the Monday night melee on the bus, which had stopped at South Durango Drive and Blue Diamond Road in the southwest Las Vegas Valley.

A Metropolitan Police Department arrest report provided more details about the incident, which was sparked when McFarland allegedly turned irate after missing his stop on West Warm Springs Road.

According to the report, McFarland struck the protective plastic partition that surrounds the bus driver’s seat. This prompted the driver to press the emergency button, which alerted his supervisors to the outburst and turned on the bus’s security cameras. A security officer later arrived at the scene.

McFarland yelled at the driver and security officer, threw a trash can at the security officer’s face, hit the partition again, spat on both the security officer and driver and threw rocks at them, threatening that “they were going to die today,” the report said.

Police arrived to find McFarland on the bus shouting and banging a softball-sized rock against the windows and interior, refusing to get off the bus.

A police K9, identified as Mister G, was deployed, but as the dog and the officer handling it approached McFarland, he continued to lash out and kicked the police dog, who bit McFarland’s foot. McFarland is also accused of throwing rocks at officers, punching them and spitting blood at them.

As the McFarland and the officer handling the police dog struggled, McFarland bit the cop on the right ear, “removing the earlobe with his teeth,” the arrest report stated.

McFarland was taken into custody after he was hit with a Taser gun in the left shoulder and stomach, police said.

According to court records, McFarland had been sentenced to jail in 2020 for attacking two other Metro police officers.

When he was arrested Monday, McFarland was on probation for second-degree arson after setting fire to a mental health care facility on Stewart Avenue in May, according to court records.

In the Monday night bus incident, McFarland faces multiple felony charges of battery, mistreating a police animal, and mayhem, as well as multiple misdemeanor counts of battery on a protected person, Las Vegas Justice Court records show.

Contact Brett Clarkson at bclarkson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrettClarkson_ on Twitter.

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