Pittsburgh man charged with biting officer outside Tequila Cowboy

A Pittsburgh man is charged with biting a city police officer early Sunday morning outside the Tequila Cowboy bar in the North Shore.

Charges against Almir Lopes De Barros, 39, of the Brighton Heights neighborhood of Pittsburgh, include aggravated assault of a police officer, resisting arrest, criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness.

According to a criminal complaint, an off-duty Pittsburgh police officer was told by a Tequila Cowboy employee that Barros was “highly intoxicated and disorderly” and refused to leave the bar at around 1:30 a.m. Sunday.

Officers and bar security were able to get Barros outside of bar, but he still refused to leave the Tequila Cowboy property, the complaint said.

Police tried to arrest Barros, but he resisted arrest. Officers and Barros got in a physical scuffle, the complaint said. When police detained Barros, he bit an officer’s left calf and kicked his left thigh, the complaint said. Officers held Barros on the ground and monitored his breathing while waiting for backup to take him to the Allegheny County Jail, the complaint said.

Barros was taken to the jail without incident, the complaint said.

Barros had scrapes on his forehead, according to the complaint. The officer’s calf was bleeding, and he had cuts on his knee, hand and forehead as a result of the scuffle with Barros, the complaint said. The officer also reported pain in his knee and wrist.

A preliminary hearing for Barros has not been scheduled.