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Man accused of injuring officer with pepper spray Abdul Hahson Blair Tuesday Dec 26, 2017 at 5:41 PM Dec 26, 2017 at 5:41 PM Nick Morgan Mail Tribune @mtcrimebeat What began with a jaywalking stop escalated to felonies for a Medford man accused of using pepper spray on a police officer. Abdul Hahson Blair, 25, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Jackson County Circuit Court to felony counts of assaulting a police officer and unlawful use of pepper spray, alleging he sprayed the uniformed Medford officer during a Court Street pedestrian stop. The officer attempted to contact Blair about 11:30 p.m. Dec. 14, after witnessing him failing to obey a pedestrian traffic light at Court and McAndrews, according to a court document filed by Medford police. After commanding Blair to stop, Blair sprayed the police officer then gave chase, police said. The pepper spray caused the officer "pain for several hours," though the officer was able to track Blair down in a foot chase that culminated with the officer subduing him using a Tazer. Blair was taken into custody without further incident. Blair has been held in the Jackson County Jail since Dec. 15 without bail for violating his probation on a prior first-degree burglary conviction. Blair has a separate felony case charging him with coercion in an October 2016 domestic violence attack on his girlfriend. He'd had a warrant for his arrest in the case after failing to appear last November for trial. Court records show Blair has a criminal history dating back to 2013, when he was convicted of first- and second-degree burglary along with methamphetamine possession. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison and post-prison supervision on the burglary conviction. — Reach reporter Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @MTCrimeBeat.