A civilian decided to step in and save the day when he saw a police officer in upstate New York being attacked by a couple.
Erie County Sheriff Timothy Howard says that Sammy Abdellatif had Deputy Jason Clark in a chokehold Wednesday night when a passer-by stopped to help the officer, who Howard says was also being attacked by Abdellatif’s girlfriend and the dog.
Howard says Abdellatif went after the deputy on Grand Island, north of Buffalo because he was angry at him for having his girlfriend’s car towed.
When Clark had his hand inside Abdellatif’s vehicle to retrieve his license and registration, the man quickly rolled up his window, trapping the officer’s hand. Clark had no choice but to break the window to free himself.
In the confusion, Abdellatif was able to exit the vehicle and then reportedly violently attacked the deputy. Abdellatif’s girlfriend, 21-year-old Brittany Ashley-Graser, allegedly joined in and jumped on Clark’s back. To make things worse, the couple’s pit bull got out of the vehicle and was acting aggressively toward the officer.
Meanwhile, a passerby, Jack Anderson had just arrived in Grand Island, New York, for a business trip. As he was driving down the street, he noticed something strange: a police officer struggling with two people. Immediately, Jack knew that it wasn’t safe and decided to intervene before things got out of hand. If Jack had not stopped when he did, a police officer might have lost his life because the couple he was dealing with was trying to murder him in cold blood.
Anderson pulled his car over and rushed towards the scene only to find that one of the people attacking the police officer was 22-year-old Abdellatif. Jack watched in horror as Abdellatif reached into his vehicle to retrieve something from within, presumably a weapon. He knew he had to act fast if he was going to do anything to stop the murder from taking place.
Without hesitation, Jack stepped forward and grabbed Abdellatif’s arm while shouting at him to calm down. He managed to keep him still long enough for other bystanders who were watching nearby to come forward and help subdue him until more officers could arrive on the scene.
A second officer arrived at the scene and was able to drag Abdellatif to the patrol car. Abdellatif will be charged with attempted murder while his girlfriend, Ashley-Graser, is charged with felony assault.
The pit bull has been taken to an animal shelter and it is unclear whether it will be euthanized.
At the time of the attack, Abellatif was out on bail for making threats against an officer. That officer was Clark, reports WBFO, and the threats stemmed from when Clark pulled Ashely-Graser over in July.
Watch the video report below for more details: