Police officer was being attacked by DUI driver after car crash—5 teens passing by did the unthinkable
Trigger Warning- This article contains themes of physical violence and drunk driving and can be distressing to some readers.
Civilians often play an important role with their courage and actions in emergency situations. However, no one expected a group of young men to save a deputy who was attacked by a drunk driver. The officer, Deputy Elliot, was off-duty and was driving back home in the middle of the night when she came across a drunk driver. She was trying to arrest the man when he attacked her. But soon enough, a group of teens came to her rescue, per Fox29 News.
The King County officer was driving back home in her patrol car at 1 AM. Deputy Elliott was off-duty when a group of people asked her for assistance in Auburn. A drunk man had caused a multiple-vehicle crash in the area and the deputy went out to deal with all the chaos that had been caused at the scene because of it. She was informed that the driver tried to simply walk away from the scene after causing the crash. The incident happened near the E Valley Access Road, per KOMO News. The woman checked on everyone involved in the crash and then followed the man who had caused the accident to arrest him.
Deputy Elliott followed the man and called for him to stop, but the man refused to do so. She eventually managed to get a hold of the suspect, who had refused to comply. The deputy told the man that he was answerable for the crash, per Fox29 News. But instead of stopping, the man tried to fight her off and started wrestling with her. The woman managed to get him on the ground and was trying to call for help before she arrested the man. But right at that moment, the man attacked the officer once again. At one point, he had gotten the deputy in a headlock and was refusing to let go. He was squeezing her neck, as she tried to free herself from his hold.
The situation looked bleak, but then a group of young men noticed them and ran in their direction. They screamed, "Get off of her!" as they rushed to help the officer. After some effort, they managed to free the deputy from his hold. Once the woman was free, she put handcuffs on the suspect as the group held onto his shoulders and legs to ensure that he didn't cause any more trouble. A police officer, Steve Pomper, told the National Police Association that many civilians helped cops who were in danger. He pointed out that anyone who was capable of helping in such a situation should do so.
In a now-deleted Facebook post, the sheriff's office expressed their gratitude for the young men. "We cannot thank these five young men enough for coming to (the deputy's) rescue. They quite possibly saved her life. The photo was taken just a few minutes after the teens helped her. Moms and Dads, you should be proud of these kids!" The officer didn't suffer any major injuries. On the other hand, the man was arrested for the felony assault of a police officer and a DUI. He also had several previous charges on his record, per the sheriff's office.