A former mixed martial arts competitor jumped into action when he saw a man fighting a police officer on the side of an Indiana road, according to a report.
The 39-year-old Ex-MMA fighter, William Cassoday, was visiting his mother on Monday afternoon when he saw a Porter County Sheriff’s Office patrolman being attacked by a suspect, according to The Lake Geneva Regional News.
“As I was passing, I see the guy swinging at the cop,” Cassoday reportedly said.
That was when Cassoday pulled over down the road and ran to the scene as the 37-year-old suspect, later identified as Christopher Delgado, was in a position to attack two other people, the outlet said.
Cassoday then grabbed Delgado’s neck from behind and used his other arm to tighten the grip in a “rear-naked choke,” according to the outlet.
“He couldn’t do anything because I was squeezing on his neck and then he kinda felt like he went limp for a second and so I loosen[ed] it up,” Cassoday told WMAQ-TV.
“I’m 280 pounds — this guy was probably half my size,” he added.
Cassoday eventually took the perpetrator down to the ground, where Patrolman Jamison Smith was able to put him in handcuffs.
The incident occurred when the officer attempted to arrest Delgado after recognizing him as an auto theft suspect, according to the report. The suspect initially pretended he was someone else before he started punching the officer when he was placed under arrest.
Delgado was charged with a felony count of battery on a law enforcement officer resulting in bodily injury, misdemeanor resisting law enforcement and false informing, according to the report.
For Cassoday, stepping in to help the cop was business as usual.
“Stuff like that doesn’t bother me,” the fighter reportedly said.
Officials later said they “cannot thank Mr. William Cassoday enough for his courageous actions.”
