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<p>HAZLETON &#8212; Officers arrested a city man after he allegedly tried to fight police.</p><p>Robert E. Jaquez Jimenez, 23, of Wyoming Street, now faces a slew of charges stemming from the incident about 2:20 a.m. Monday.</p><p>According to a criminal complaint:</p><p>Officers responded to 224 E. Diamond Ave. for a report of a large fight in progress involving knives.</p><p>They approached a group of men standing near an SUV. The front-seat passenger, later identified as Jaquez Jimenez, was screaming.</p><p>Jaquez Jimenez jumped out of the SUV and walked toward officers in an aggressive manner with closed fists. He continued to ignore commands to lower his hands and kept moving forward before assuming a fighting stance and stopping in front of an officer.</p><p>Police prevented Jaquez Jimenez from throwing any punches by grabbing his arms, but he failed to comply with orders to place his hands behind his back. At the same time, a crowd began to assemble around the officers.</p><p>To disperse the crowd, City Police Chief Jerry Speziale deployed pepper spray. The spray hit the susepct and one of the arresting officers, prompting Jaquez Jimenez to run from police.</p><p>He continued to struggle and resist, and officers had to use a substantial amount of force to overcome Jaquez Jimenez.</p><p>Once in handcuffs, he was transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hazleton to be decontaminated from the pepper spray.</p><p>The officer hit by the spray went to the Southside Fire Station to be decontaminated.</p><p>Jaquez Jimenez was arraigned in Luzerne County Central Court by District Judge Joseph D. Spagnuolo Jr. on charges of simple assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and harassment.</p><p>He was unable to post bail set at $25,000 and was remanded to the Luzerne County Correctional Facility.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dan Stokes</p><p>dstokes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Dan Stokes at 570-991-6389 or on Twitter @ByDanStokes</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Police: Hazleton man takes fighting stance with officer