Man throws bicycle at city police cruiser

Bloomington police officer Randy Gelhausen has served on the force for three years.\nHe's never seen a day like Tuesday.\nGelhausen and officer John Kovach were investigating a case late Tuesday afternoon at Peoples Park on Kirkwood Avenue. Kovach was questioning a suspect at the park, while Gelhausen talked with his supervisor on a cell phone in the parked police cruiser.\nThe windshield suddenly shattered with a violent bang. Shocked, Gelhausen ran his hand over his torso to see if he'd been shot.\nAlthough Gelhausen had been showered with shards of glass, he wasn't bleeding. And he hadn't been shot. A large middle-aged man had hurled a bicycle at the cruiser.\nKovach rushed over and helped Gelhausen subdue the suspect, whom the police later identified as 50-year-old Bloomington resident John Merchant. The suspect -- described as about six-foot-three and roughly 200 pounds -- struggled with the officers for several minutes before they were able to handcuff him.\nBackup shortly arrived, and the officers hauled him over to the cruiser and attempted to frisk him for weapons, police said. The suspect repeatedly kicked at the officers, who had to force him to the ground and put him in restraints.\nThey took him to the Monroe County Correctional Institute, but he complained of internal injuries from a medical condition. So officers escorted him to the Bloomington Hospital, where he is still being held. A physician recommended he be held for physical and psychological testing, a hospital spokesman said.\nPolice said they filed preliminary felony charges of criminal mischief and assault of a police officer. Merchant, who turned out to have an outstanding warrant from Morgan County, also faces a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest.\nWhile police did not conduct any toxicology tests before turning the suspect over to the hospital, Gelhausen said he could smell alcohol on Merchant's breath. They later found an empty liquor bottle in a knapsack they recovered on the scene, which has been admitted for evidence.\nEyewitnesses testified that Merchant, who had been riding the bicycle north along Dunn Street, started shouting expletives when he saw the officers. Police suspect the bike might be stolen property.\nMerchant provided scant explanation for the strange act of violent aggression.\n"I'm sick of police fucking with the people in Peoples Park," he told Gelhausen after he had been taken into custody.\nIn addition to shattering the windshield, Merchant caused extensive damage to the cruiser's hood and quarter panel. Bloomington Police Sgt. Bill Parker estimates the cost of repair to be about $2,500. \nDespite the shock of the incident, Gelhausen was back patrolling the streets Wednesday.\n"It was just bizarre," he said. "You expect that sort of thing on the job, but still"