A 42-year-old Bainbridge Island man was charged with third-degree assault after he allegedly spit in the face of a Washington State Police trooper while being arrested for driving under the influence.

Clifford J. Adams was charged with the felony count of third-degree assault in Kitsap County District Court on Tuesday, Nov. 12. He is being held in the Kitsap County Jail, and bail has been set at $150,000.

The alleged assault happened after police received a report of a driver who had hit mailboxes on Sherman Hill Road south of Poulsbo on Sunday, Nov. 10.

A state trooper responded and found two county sheriff’s units had stopped a 1999 Chevrolet van at the end of the dead end road.

The officer noticed fresh scratches along one side of the van, and there was also a front bumper from a passenger vehicle next to the van, and deputies said they thought the van had been in a collision and lost the vehicle it was towing before it hit the mailboxes.

The trooper then found Adams in the driver’s seat of the van, and he smelled of alcohol, according to a DUI investigation report.

Adams allegedly said he had consumed “a few beers,” then repeatedly asked if he could use the bathroom. When asked if he could hold it, he huffed and moaned and minutes later, turned toward the van, unzipped his pants and relieved himself.

Adams then failed roadside sobriety tests, and was told he was under arrest for DUI just before 6:30 p.m. Nov. 10.

After he was handcuffed and placed in the back of a patrol car, the state trooper told Adams he would have to be strapped in with a seat belt and Adams said, “Whatever you gotta do.”

As the officer reached across to buckle Adams’ seatbelt, Adams said, “Do whatever you gotta do, bitch,” and spit in the officer’s face.

Police then put a spit sock hood on Adams and took him to the Kitsap County Jail.