A female student was arrested after reportedly biting a University Police officer who approached her while she was intoxicated in the lobby of Ivory Tower early Friday.

UPD Chief Dolores Stafford said that, according to a police report, the student bit one of the UPD officers in the arm while he was trying to sit her down on the couch in the lobby. Stafford said the student was “extremely intoxicated” and tried to flee the scene twice during her encounter with UPD, falling to the ground on her second attempt. The incident occurred at 12:21 a.m.

Stafford said that after the student bit the officer she was handcuffed in the lobby and taken to GW Hospital’s emergency room to be treated for excessive alcohol consumption. Later that morning she was transported to Metropolitan Police’s second district headquarters, where the arrest was processed. She was charged with assault.

Stafford said that being arrested for assaulting an officer is standard procedure. She added that this type of arrest carries a higher sentence than a simple assault charge.

“I don’t know many officers who wouldn’t use their discretion at this point and arrest them,” she said.

“Every year we have a couple of cases where a student decides to physically assault one of our officers,” Stafford added. “I would take this opportunity to advise students that should they assault an officer it will result in the student being arrested.”

This is the second assault on a police officer in a week. Early in the morning of Sept. 11, a female student shoved an officer in Thurston Hall.

-Katie Rooney