From staff reports
A Knox man is facing charges after he allegedly tried to escape from the UPMC Northwest hospital in Seneca.
The man, who is 39, tried to leave the emergency room and later the Behavioral Heath Unit at UPMC Northwest on Feb. 3, according to a criminal complaint filed by UPMC Northwest police.
The man, who was cursing and behaving aggressively, shoved a UPMC police office in the lobby of the emergency room and gripped a pen the officer believed he might use as a weapon, according to the complaint.
After numerous commands by the officer, the man dropped the pen and eventually returned to his room after the 45-minute incident in the lobby, the complaint said.
Then in the early-morning hours of Feb. 4, the man tried to leave again after being involuntarily committed at the hospital, the complaint said. The man fought back when hospital police tried to detain him and keep him from leaving, the complaint said.
The man eventually returned to his room, according to the complaint.
He has been charged with a felony count of aggravated assault and two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct.
