Purell Alert: Wanton Cougher Sought To Infect Deputy With Tuberculosis

A South Carolina man who claimed to have tuberculosis was charged Tuesday with a felony after he repeatedly attempted to “cough all over” a police officer who had arrested him on an outsanding warrant.

According to a Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office report excerpted here, Jon Roseboro, 50, told Deputy Jason Hilton that he had the contagious lung disease when Hilton arrived at his home to serve a bench warrant. “I’m going to cough all over you,” Roseboro allegedly warned.

Apparently feeling in danger, Hilton handcuffed Roseboro and placed him in a police cruiser with a hoodie over his head. Undaunted, the arrestee continued “directing coughs at the openings in the cage partition.” The deputy initially attempted to repel Roseboro’s attacks by spraying “an aerosol germ killer towards the openings in the cage.” He also opened the squad car’s right rear window.

The cough and parry continued as Roseboro was driven to jail.

“I also turned the air conditioner on high so that it would push the air towards the opened window,” noted Hilton, who added, “Jon seemed capable of stopping the cough at any time he desired in order to tell me how I had violated his civil rights.” As he drove, Hilton “continued to spray the germ killing aerosol towards the openings.” At one point, Hilton reported, Roseboro “bent over on the seat and tried to cough as deeply as he could. He also continued to put his mouth near the openings in the cage and cough.”

After dropping Roseboro off at the county jail, Hilton promptly “wiped my uniform and body with alcohol wipes. I also sprayed the interior of the vehicle.” It is unclear if Roseboro, in custody at the county jail, is receiving treatment for his reported TB.