A 33-year-old Scranton man physically assaulted his mother, who is battling cancer, police charge.

A neighbor reported a domestic dispute at 8 Morel St., Apt. D, on Sunday around 11 a.m..

The neighbor told Officer James Griffith she heard Adam Blanken screaming at his mother, Joyce Osborne, all morning, police said.

The neighbor said Blanken put Osborne in a chokehold and dragged her back inside as she tried to leave the apartment, according to the criminal complaint.

Blanken was smoking a marijuana cigarette when police arrived at the apartment, which was littered with objects and broken furniture, police said.

Osborne yelled for help from her bedroom. Police ordered Blanken to sit on the couch, but he refused and walked toward his mother’s room, according to the criminal complaint.

Blanken pulled away when officers grabbed his arm, so they handcuffed him.

Osborne, 63, who is in poor health, said Blanken beat her and thew her to the ground in the past several days. The violence had severely escalated since the night before, according to the criminal complaint.

Specifically, Blanken broke Osborne’s phone when she attempted to call 911, grabbed her, choked her, dragged her back into the apartment and held her against her will with a pocket knife when she tried to go to a neighbor’s apartment to call police, officers said.

Osborne told officers Blanken held the knife to her face and ear and told her to be quiet, police said. He placed his hands around her throat and choked her in her bed, impeding her breathing, according to the criminal complaint.

Officers found a small pocket knife in Blanken’s possession, which Osborne said he used to threaten her, police said.

Osborne suffered bruising on her neck, left forearm and chest, a black eye and a swollen bruise above her left eye, according to the criminal complaint.

After he was handcuffed, Blanken repeatedly told officers to remove the handcuffs because he wanted to fight them, police said.

Officers shackled Blanken’s legs while transporting him to police headquarters due to his erratic and disorderly behavior, according to the criminal complaint.

Police charged Blanken with aggravated assault, strangulation, unlawful restraint, simple assault with a dangerous weapon, resisting arrest, possession of a small amount of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, harassment and disorderly conduct.

As of Monday, Blanken was in Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $75,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 14 at 9:30 a.m.