Police: Officer Hospitalized After Being Sprayed in Face with Loaded Syringe

A Pennsylvania police officer was hospitalized after a woman sprayed the contents of a loaded syringe while he was there to conduct a welfare check, police said.

Butler City Police charged Kristina Labruna, 28, of Butler, with two counts of felony aggravated assault, as well as a count each of simple assault and possession of drug paraphernalia in connection to the incident, KDKA reported.

Butler City Police Chief Bob O’Neill said the officer was patrolling around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday when he witnessed Labruna slumped over the steering wheel while her car was running in a parking lot on East Jefferson Street.

Police said Labruna had the substance in her hand and squirted it at the officer’s face and ear.

Investigators found a brown rope in the car that “had clearly been used as a tourniquet consistent with intravenous drug use,”WPXI reported.

Police also found the syringe, stamp bags used to pack heroin, and a suboxone strip during a search of the vehicle.

Labruna was arrested and booked into the Butler County Prison to be held until her arraignment hearing. The officer was taken to a local hospital, where he was treated for being exposed to the unknown substance.

The officer was later released, but was ordered to follow up with doctors “to determine if he was exposed to any substances and or medical issues from the attack.”