AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man possibly viewing child pornography at a downtown Austin library got in a fight with Austin police on Monday, injuring one of the officers.
Just before 7 p.m., officers were dispatched to Faulk Central Library at 800 Guadalupe St. The two officers met with a library security officer who told them a man was in the computer area watching child pornography.
Police watched live security video showing Christopher Kostos, 24, searching for the photos. Police say it appeared Kostos was saving the images to a hard drive. The security officer recognized the man, having kicked him out of the library once before for viewing porn on the public computers.
Officers also learned Kostos had a warrant for his arrest for camping in a public place. When they tried to arrest the man, he “frantically” tried to close the web pages he was viewing, according to an affidavit. Kostos then stood up and pulled his left hand out of the handcuffs and began a physical fight with an officer. After being given several warnings, police say, they shocked Kostos with a stun gun. The man then rolled on his stomach and was handcuffed.
One of the officers had a bleeding, inch-long cut on his right hand from the fight.
Kostos was charged with assault on a peace officer, a third degree felony. The library computer was seized as possible evidence of possession of child pornography.