Kansas Councilwoman Accused Of Biting Officer's Thumb

By Christina Zhao

Senior news editor

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A Kansas councilwoman allegedly bit a corrections officer's thumb so hard she broke the bone during a scuffle at Atchison County Jail.

On June 29, Carol S. Fowler, 48, an elected official for Huron City, was arrested on a warrant for failing to appear in court, reported Atchison Globe. Fowler kicked and scratched officers as they tried to bring her in, and a deputy eventually shot her with a stun gun to keep her under control, the Atchison County Sheriff's Office reported.

On July 2, while Fowler was still in custody, she got into another fight with jail staff as an officer attempted to remove her jewelry and personal items to complete her booking process. During the struggle, Fowler bit and broke the officer's thumb. Another deputy was also injured in the incident.

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"They had five officers in there and it was a struggle for all of them to get her to comply," Sheriff Jack Laurie told MSC News. "She was able to [get] a hold of one of the correction officer's thumbs with her teeth and actually broke the bone in his thumb."

Laurie said that both officers involved in the incident required medical attention.

Fowler is facing three felony charges of battery on an officer and interference with law enforcement for her actions. The original warrant for failing to appear was from an incident in December in which Fowler was arrested for being a pedestrian under the influence and interfering with law enforcement.

Fowler is still listed as a Huron City councilwoman on the Atchison County website at the time of publishing. According to Atchison Globe, she was voted in during the November 2017 elections after securing two votes. In 2016, the small town of Huron was estimated to have a population of 73 people.

After the incident last week, authorities amended her bond to $25,343 to include the new charges.