An altercation at the Burns Flat Community Swimming Pool escalated into a potentially dangerous situation and resulted in the arrest of one man on a felony charge of assault, battery, or assault and battery with a deadly weapon and a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest. Leviathon Lee Dipman, 29, was arrested June 22, 2019, and is facing up to 11 years behind bars if convicted of both charges.
Officer Joseph Newell of the Burns Flat Police Department was dispatched to the community pool at approximately 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 22, 2019, in response to a reported altercations between several adult men. According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by Newell, Dipman was acting belligerently and combatively with several other men at the pool, behavior that continued even after Newell arrived to contain the situation.
“When I arrived on scene, I observed an adult male (later identified as Leviathon Lee Dipman...) yelling, cursing, and being physical with several other men,” Newell wrote. “As I approached the men, Mr. Dipman continued to curse and scream as the other men backed off. I told Mr. Dipman to come talk to me, to which he responded by cursing at me and trying to walk away.”
Two witnesses to the incident, whose statements were included with the affidavit, said Dipman was in a verbal altercation with another man. The witnesses attempted to break up the altercation when Dipman reportedly pulled a knife and attacked one of them.
“An intoxicated male was in the park/pool area with another male,” the witness reported. “I left the pool area to the situation. The intoxicated male continued to yell, cuss, and act aggressive to the other male. Myself and other unknown males tried to get him to leave. He became more aggressive and stated that he was going to cut me. At that moment, he pulled out a black handled knife, opened it and swung it at me. I told him to put it down and leave. He held it in his hand and continued to make threats. I told him to put it down in which he threw it behind him where it went inside the pool fence and landed in the kiddie pool where there were kids swimming.”
The second witness reported a similar occurrence of the incident, but added the knife that was thrown in the kiddie pool “almost hit a little girl in the pool.”
Newell managed to place Dipman in handcuffs, but he continued to resist and was taken to the ground by Newell and Officer Yates. The second witness held onto Dipman’s legs to keep him from kicking the officers until Assistant Chief Armfield of the Burns Flat Police Department arrived to apply leg restraints.
Newell transported Dipman to the Washita County Jail, where he continued to behave in an uncooperative manner and was placed in a restraint chair by the jail staff.
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