In a Scuffle With Police at His Son's School, Dad Does the Unthinkable to Ward Off Cops' Pepper Spray

Taron Boddie came to his son's school to pick him up for an appointment, but there was a big snag in the proceedings.

Employees at Pennsylvania's South Scranton Intermediate told Boddie, 35, that he needed to show identification before they could release his son to him — and an argument ensued.

Apparently the school had enough of Thursday's showdown and called police, the Times-Tribune reported, citing a criminal complaint.

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Boddie, whose other son was with him, reportedly wouldn't cooperate with Patrolman Joseph Kearney, who repeated the school's instructions to the agitated dad.

The Times-Tribune reported that Boddie "kept screaming and put his hands on Patrolman Kearney’s chest," which resulted in Boddie's arrest.

But that didn't go so smoothly, either.

The officer tried placing Boddie in handcuffs as the dad attempted to walk away. Then as Kearney took out his pepper spray and ordered Boddie to put his hands behind his back, Boddie reportedly picked up his other son and used him as a shield stop the officer from deploying the pepper spray, police told the Times-Tribune.

And it worked briefly, the paper reported.

But after school officials got involved and took the child away from Boddie, the officer sprayed the dad in the side of the face, the Times-Tribune said

Still, Boddie tried to run — but not for long, as additional responding officers finally took him into custody.

Boddie was charged with simple assault, harassment, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and endangering the welfare of children, the Times-Tribune said.

Boddie was free on $10,000 unsecured bail, pending a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, the paper reported.