VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — CORRECTION: This story previously listed a criminal charge that Bare did not plead guilty to; it has been updated to correct the specific charges he pleaded guilty to in this case.
A former Virginia State Police trooper pleaded guilty Thursday morning in Virginia Beach General District Court to three charges, including a misdemeanor of obstruction of justice, in relation to his arrest in March.
In court, prosecutors detailed the day Virginia Beach officers arrested Chad Bare in the North End neighborhood of the city. Lawyers say someone called the police about an intoxicated man in a backyard on 55th Street during the early morning of March 27.
Officers described him as "incoherent, intoxicated, and swaying" when they arrived. Prosecutors say he ran away from officers, so they pushed him to the ground. When he resisted arrest, they pepper-sprayed him and later put him in a secured restraint device.
Court documents allege Bare even spit on an officer, though, his attorney says Bare and the other officers had to spit because of the pepper spray.
In court Thursday, Bare also pleaded guilty to public intoxication and obstruction of justice, and he apologized to the court for his actions.
Bare's lawyer says he has "suffered a great deal" since that day and has gone to counseling following his arrest.
A judge suspended all jail time for Bare, contingent on good behavior, and gave him two separate fines totaling $650.
Bare’s lawyer told the judge he received a call from VSP saying he must either resign or be terminated. He resigned from the agency as of Wednesday.
Bare's lawyer had no comment coming out of the courtroom Thursday morning.
Virginia State Police say Bare joined the agency in 2015, left, and then rejoined in 2018. Before resigning this week, the agency suspended him without pay at the time of his arrest.