McDonald’s customer with COVID-19 spits on cop during arrest, Oregon police say

An Oregon police officer is under quarantine after a man infected with COVID-19 coughed and spit on the officer while being arrested, according to the police department.

Police in Tigard responded to a call about a man who fell asleep while sitting in line at a McDonald’s drive-thru and “appeared drunk” on Sunday, a news release from the Tigard Police Department said. Before police arrived, the man pulled out of the drive-thru and parked in the restaurant’s lower lot, according to the release.

Officers found the man passed out in the driver’s seat hanging out of the open door, the release said. The officers smelled alcohol in the still-running car and told the man to turn off the engine, according to the release.

Instead of turning the car off, the suspect put it in drive and rolled forward, nearly hitting an officer’s patrol car, the release said. Officers arrested him on charges of driving under the influence and driving while suspended, according to the release.

While the officers searched the suspect, identified as Miguel Hernandez-Cuesta, 24, he started coughing profusely and said he had the coronavirus, the release said. After one of the officers asked the suspect to stop coughing on them, Hernandez-Cuesta turned his head in the officer’s direction and started coughing and spitting directly in the officer’s face while standing less than a foot away from him, according to the release.

The Washington County Jail confirmed Hernandez-Cuesta was positive for COVID-19, the release said. He was booked on an additional charge of felony aggravated harassment, according to the release.

The jail’s roster did not list Hernandez-Cuesta as an inmate as of Monday afternoon. The officer was wearing a surgical mask and gloves during the incident and is now under quarantine, the release said.