HOUSTON – On Thursday afternoon at the Fall Creek neighborhood in Humble, a cellphone video captured a Harris County deputy in a vicious battle with a suspect.
Pastors Pasha and Yuniati Shahid were in the same neighborhood checking out a few homes in the area.
“We went to view a property in the Fall Creek area. We were checking the property and as we came out, we realized there was an officer that was trying to make an arrest,” Shahid said.
At first, they said the deputy attempted to give the suspect orders to remain on the ground but the suspect refused and charged at the officer.
“The officer pulled out his Taser, the guy jumped up really fast and the officer tased him and he just snatched the Taser out of his chest and he just began to fight with the officer,” Shahid said.
The couple said they decided to pull out their cellphones and record the deputy who had his bulletproof vest partially ripped by the suspect, and struggling to keep the suspect contained. They said the suspect then managed to punch the deputy several times.
“He put a triangle MMA move on the officer. I don’t know how that officer managed to get out but he had it on that officer for quite some time,” Shahid said.
The couple made a split decision to intervene.
They said as the suspect managed to escape the deputy again, Youniati tackled the suspect down, then Pasha helped the deputy keep the erratic suspect down. The suspect's family tried to intervene and charge at the deputy but before they did so, Youniti tackled the man, according to the couple.
Officers arrived at the scene and it was eventually contained.
The Shahids were glad to be in the right place at the right time.
“We didn't have the time to think about the what-ifs, the officer life was in danger at that time. The guy was on top of the officer punching him so we ran to jump in to help him,” Shahid said.