A Hanover man faces charges after police allege he interfered at the scene of a critical medical emergency and then punched a police officer, according to charging documents.
Shannon James Felton, 43, of Hanover, was charged with felony aggravated assault along with misdemeanor counts of simple assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and summary counts of harassment and public drunkenness, according to charging documents filed in Hanover Borough on Wednesday, Aug. 19.
Felton, who was arraigned on Wednesday morning, was confined in York County Prison after he was unable to post $50,000 monetary bail, records showed. Attorney information for Felton was not available in court records.
In charging documents, police said the incident began while EMS personnel were tending to a critically injured person at the scene of a medical emergency in Doss Alley near West Chestnut Street in downtown Hanover Borough at about 10:25 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 18.
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York County 911 records show that an ambulance had responded to a reported serious fall injury near Doss Alley at the time listed in the charging documents, which then resulted in the request for a medical helicopter landing at Hanover's Good Field to transport the patient.
According to the affidavit of probable cause filed against Felton, a police officer was conducting crowd control at the scene of a serious medical emergency when Felton approached the scene.
While medical personnel were "actively administering lifesaving medical treatment" on the patient, police alleged that Felton continued to approach them despite an officer's continued orders to step away, and then allegedly "attempted to intervene in an active medical emergency," the charging documents allege.
As Felton allegedly attempted to intervene with the care of the patient, the complaint states, the officer attempted to stop Felton by placing their hand on his chest, to which police said Felton began to push the officer using his chest and body weight.
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The officer then attempted to take Felton into custody, the affidavit states, resulting in an alleged struggle between the officer and Felton.
During that struggle, Felton allegedly landed a punch on the officer's face, the charging documents state, which police said then resulted in the officer punching Felton back in the scuffle.
Following the punch by the officer, the officer was then able to subdue Felton, the documents stated, taking him onto his stomach and handcuffing him.
After being taken into custody, police alleged in the charging documents that Felton admitted to being under the influence of alcohol.
A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for Sept. 2, 2026, according to court records.
Harrison Jones is the Hanover reporter for the Evening Sun. Reach him at [email protected].
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This article originally appeared on Hanover Evening Sun: Hanover man accused of interfering at emergency scene, hitting officer