A West St. Paul police officer used a Taser on a man who was nude from the waist down after he ran toward the officer, refusing an order to stop.

Brian L. Dziubak, 38, was then arrested for an alleged domestic assault and violation of a restraining order, which had happened at his wife's home earlier that day, Sept. 2. His arrest followed a bizarre incident in which he had stripped off his pants in a gas station bathroom, stole a can of pop and then ran naked from the waist down along S. Robert Street, according to charges.

Dziubak was charged in Dakota County District Court on Wednesday with domestic assault, violation of a protection order and obstructing the legal process. He has no address listed in court records.

A criminal complaint said police were called to the 1400 block of Charlton Street after his wife reported that he came to her home, watched television and hit her in the eye with no provocation.

Police were looking for him when they were called to a gas station in the 1800 block of S. Robert Street about a man who came out of the bathroom with no pants or shoes on, stole a can of pop from a cooler and fled without paying.

Then came another report from the area of Mendota Road and S. Robert Street: Police had spotted Dziubak. He began running toward an officer, who told him to stop. But Dziubak, still nude from the waist down, kept running, the complaint says.

The officer used the Taser, and medics arrived shortly to help the man, who was screaming that he was dying, having a heart attack and being burned by his clothes, the complaint says. He said he had been smoking marijuana.

Medics had to fight with Dziubak to keep a blanket over his body, the complaint says.

He has two domestic assault convictions in the past 10 years.

JOY POWELL