Man ‘lightly slaps’ Bluffton officer’s hand at Mexican eatery. This was not a smart move

A Bluffton man was charged with public disorderly conduct after he allegedly refused to leave a restaurant and “lightly” slapped a police officer’s hand on Sunday.

The incident was reported at La Mexicana Restaurant on Simmonsville Road as involving an intoxicated man who refused to leave, according to a Bluffton Police Department report.

When an officer arrived, the owner of the restaurant said that the man was consuming alcohol when he arrived at the restaurant and that be became “loud and belligerent,” the report said.

The owner said he asked the man to leave and he refused, raised his voice and began to use profanity to customers.

The officer wrote in the report that the man appeared to have bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol.

As the officer attempted to get the man’s information, he once again became “belligerent” and “lightyly slapped” the officer’s left hand while the officer was writing, the report said.

After the officer told the man not to touch officers during an investigation, the man continued to be belligerent and was placed in handcuffs as a result.

The man was taken to the Beaufort County Detention Center and issued a trespass notice.

This story was originally published December 6, 2017 at 2:12 PM with the headline "Man ‘lightly slaps’ Bluffton officer’s hand at Mexican eatery. This was not a smart move."