A 35-year-old Oak Harbor man who repeatedly kneed a police officer in the face was recently sentenced to a prison term.

As part of a plea bargain, John Foster pleaded guilty in Island County Superior Court Sept. 11 to assault in the third degree — law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.

Judge Vickie Churchill went along with sentence recommendation agreed upon by the prosecution and defense. She sentenced him to 366 days in prison, which is an exceptional sentence, and ordered him to pay $1,217 in fines and fees. When Foster gets out of prison, he’ll be on community custody for nine to 18 months.

According to the report by Oak Harbor Police Officer William Wilke, police took Foster into custody June 13 on an outstanding warrant for third-degree driving while suspended.

Foster refused to get into the police car, forcing the four officers to push and pull him in. As Wilke was trying to put the seat belt on the man, Foster threw three “knee strikes” at the officer’s face, hitting him in the jaw.

In the end, an officer tasered Foster and he sat down, allowing them to get his seat belt on.

Wilke wrote that Foster seemed highly intoxicated. The officer experienced “minor soreness” on both sides of his jaw.

Wilke wrote that Foster had previously resisted arrest when he was taken into custody on suspicion of felony domestic violence.

You can reach News-Times reporter Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynews

times.com or call 675-6611.