A 27-year-old New Mexico man is accused of biting an Oak Harbor police officer during a traffic stop on Sept. 2, according to court documents.

The alleged biter, Alex L. Maines, appeared in Island County Superior Court the next day. The judge found probable cause existed to believe he may have committed the crimes of assault in the third degree and driving while license suspended or revoked.

Sgt. Jenn Gravel with the Oak Harbor Police Department was driving in Oak Harbor and pulled over a Ford Ranger on Midway Boulevard because a trailer ball obscured the license plate and the windshield had a spider-web crack.

The driver, later identified as Maines, continually interrupted Gravel when she asked for his license, registration and proof of insurance; he demanded to see a “sergeant,” but Gravel explained she was the sergeant, the report states. He continued to be uncooperative, continually revved his engine and threw his driver’s license at the window at her, the report states.

Maines called Gravel a sexist term and later yelled a racial slur at an African-American officer, the report states. The officers discovered that his New Mexico license was suspended and he had no license in Washington state, the report states.

After other officers were called to the scene, Maines was told he needed to get out of his car; he at first refused but eventually complied. During the arrest, Maines again called an officer a racial slur and told him to get his “black hands” off him, the report states.

While the sergeant was searching him, Maines started screaming insults and spraying spittle in her face, the report states. He then bit her on the hand, leaving tooth marks on her skin through gloves, the report states.