Man Denies He Tried to Break Doctor’s Jaw

Saying he intended only a slap in the face, a Canoga Park man denied in court Tuesday that he tried to break an emergency room doctor’s jaw after the physician gave the man’s girlfriend a rectal exam.

Michael Tipton, 24, faces up to five years in prison if convicted of what prosecutors say was an unprovoked attack Aug. 28 on Dr. Edward Spitz at Humana Hospital-West Hills.

Van Nuys Superior Court jurors are to begin deliberating the case today.

Spitz testified that Tipton punched him in the jaw after he performed a pelvic and rectal examination on Tipton’s 19-year-old girlfriend, who was complaining of abdominal pain.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Renee F. Urman said that, although Tipton’s girlfriend was upset by the procedure, it was a routine exam and a nurse was present at all times.

She urged jurors to convict Tipton of felony battery and assault likely to cause injury, adding that “just because you’re upset doesn’t mean you can go and cold-cock the doctor.”

But Deputy Public Defender Leslie Warren said that the injury was accidental and that Tipton should be convicted of no more than misdemeanor battery.

“I don’t think it was a man thing,” Warren said. “You’re going to protect the one you love.”