Philadelphia, PA – A female Philadelphia police officer fearlessly tackled a combative man who assaulted her and her male partner on Thursday, viral cell phone footage showed (video below).
The agency is aware of the incident, and the investigation as to what occurred is ongoing, the department told Blue Lives Matter on Friday morning.
The altercation occurred at approximately 1:25 p.m. in the 100-block of East Cambria Street, in an area near the West Kensington and Fairhill neighborhoods, Philadelphia Police Officer Troy Brown told the Philly Voice.
The officers seen in the video were “conducting a pedestrian investigation,” when a “23-year-old Hispanic male became involved, and a physical altercation ensued,” Officer Brown explained.
The male suspect, who was wearing a sleeveless, light-colored shirt, appeared to be arguing with a female Philadelphia police officer at the beginning of the video.
A male Philadelphia police officer quickly circled around the back of the irate male, and grabbed him by the lower part of his shirt as the man turned to face him.
“Don’t touch me,” the suspect said, as he attempted to push the officer away with his left hand.
When officer maintained his grip on the man’s shirt, the suspect reared back and punched him in the head with his right hand, the video showed.
The officer took as a step back as the man briefly advanced with both fists swinging.
The female officer then grabbed ahold of the suspect’s right arm, and he lowered his head and turned towards her while the male officer wrapped his arm around the man’s neck from behind.
A crowd of onlookers grew increasingly more volatile, and encircled the officers while yelling at them.
The suspect, who had a grip on the female officer’s shirt, suddenly lunged forward and began punching her in the head and upper body, causing the male officer to lose his hold on the man.
The male officer fell backwards against the hood of a patrol vehicle, as the suspect lifted the female officer into the air, tearing her outer uniform shirt open.
He then pulled the female officer towards him, as she tried to escape his grasp.
The crowd moved in even closer, while the male officer desperately tried to yank the combative man away from his partner.
The female officer fought her way free, and the irate man swung his arms wildly, striking the male officer yet again.
As the male officer backed away from his blows, the female officer suddenly rushed the suspect from behind, tackling him to the ground.
The male officer struggled to hold the crowd at bay, while the female officer forced the violent suspect onto his stomach.
The male officer then deployed his Taser, hitting the man in the chest.
“Alright, alright, alright,” the suspect said, as he sat on the ground with his hands raised in the air.
“Ya’ll came out here and started it,” one onlooker told the officers, as the man removed the Taser probes from his chest just before the video ended.
The unnamed male suspect was arrested on multiple charges, including simple assault and aggravated assault, the Philly Voice reported.
Facebook user Lamont Randall posted the video on Thursday afternoon with the caption, "She's a beast."
It had over 200,000 views as of Friday.
Philadelphia Police Department declined to comment further on the incident.
You can watch the officers’ encounter with the irate man in the video below:
