Arizona woman sentenced after conviction for attacking officer with crowbar

PHOENIX — An Arizona woman was sentenced to 10.5 years behind bars last week for a crowbar attack on a police officer during a traffic stop, authorities announced Monday.

Erica Ann Montgomery, 47, of Sedona was convicted in May of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument against a peace officer, the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office said.

The crowbar attack occurred after a Sedona Police officer pulled Montgomery over on Nov. 3, 2023, because she ran a red light, prosecutors said.

What led to crowbar attack on Arizona police officer?

The Sedona resident was driving with a suspended license plate. The officer attempted to collect the plate, as required under state law, but Montgomery refused to exit her car.

A struggle ensued as she tried to roll up her window and lock the door, prosecutors said.

Montgomery punched the officer in the chest during the struggle and then hit him over the head with a metal object. The officer suffered a concussion from the blow.

Montgomery also injured another officer who responded to the scene, prosecutors said.

A crowbar was recovered next to the car after she was apprehended.

On top of the prison time for the crowbar attack, Montgomery was ordered to undergo three years of probation for two additional counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer and one count of resisting arrest during her July 28 sentencing hearing.

“I hope this decade-plus prison sentence sends a clear message that it is never OK to commit a crime of violence,” Yavapai County Attorney Dennis McGrane said in a press release. “It should go without saying that police officers are members of our Yavapai County community, and everyone in Yavapai County has the right to go to work without fear of being assaulted.”

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