By JON BAKER

LINCOLN — It’s unknown to police if John David Tice had any previous experience in the ring, but a boxer’s pose and a couple of pro wrestling-like elbows to the ribs of two Twin River security officers left the Cranston man in handcuffs on Friday night.

The gesture meant nothing to Patrolman Russell Enos, but the attacks sure did. That’s why he arrested Tice, 34, of 367 Laurel Hill Ave., on two counts of misdemeanor simple assault and battery, stated Deputy Chief Brian Sullivan on Monday afternoon.
The situation came to a boil at about 9:15 p.m., while Tice played blackjack on a video lottery terminal inside the casino’s Ocean Room.
“At some point, the man allegedly had become belligerent and obnoxious, and he had offended other patrons,” Sullivan said. “Two security officers were called, and they asked him to leave. That’s when he positioned himself in a boxer’s stance, which is a pretty brazen thing to do.
“He was being escorted outside of the building, the West valet entrance, by those two security men when he elbowed each in the rib and stomach area,” he added. “At that point, Officer Enos arrived and placed the suspect in custody … He hadn’t been very cooperative as he was being escorted out, and -- when the elbows came out -- that’s when he got himself into more trouble. Before then, I believe it would’ve been only a disorderly conduct charge.”
Sullivan noted that Enos transported him to headquarters for processing, and police later released the suspect with a summons to appear in Sixth District Court in Providence on March 28.
“Our (police) department had no previous contact with this individual, but security may have had an issue with him in the past,” Sullivan said, adding that an odor of alcohol had been detected on Tice’s breath. “Alcohol was definitely involved. Apparently, the man just didn’t know when to back off.”