Published on November 16, 2017
GREELEY, Colo. (Weld County D.A.) – A Greeley man accused of assaulting medical staff at the Northern Colorado Medical Center will spend the next two decades behind bars.
In August, a Weld County jury found John Svitak, 48, guilty of two counts of second-degree assault on a peace officer and attempted second-degree assault. According to the affidavit, Svitak was a patient at NCMC in August 2016 when he attacked several hospital employees.
One of the workers noticed Svitak covered the security camera with a piece of paper. When employees walked into the room to check on the defendant, Svitak began swinging his fist at them. During several attempts to restrain him to the bed, Svitak kicked two employees in the head and body, causing lacerations and a sprained wrist on one of the workers.
Later that day before Svitak was taken to the jail, he attacked a worker again during another visitation. During this attack, he punched the worker in the face, pushing him to the ground, and squeezed the victim’s testicles. Svitak was quickly apprehended and taken to the Weld County jail.
“Those who work in the medical profession do not deserve the type of behavior NCMC staff had to endure that day,” said District Attorney Michael Rourke. “They are there to serve and help the public, not to get repeatedly attacked by a man for no apparent reason. This 20-year sentence sends a strong message that you can’t assault people just because you’re having a bad day.”
Deputy District Attorney Michael Pirraglia prosecuted the case.