BlueLivesMatterBY COWGIRL
Richmond, CA – Richmond Police Sergeant Don Nelson was attacked by a man in the middle of a busy street on Wednesday night.
According to East Bay Times, the incident occurred about 10:15 PM in the 700 block of 23rd Street. Sergeant Don Nelson saw the man in the middle of the street, which has four lanes of traffic, and is usually busy.
He made a U-turn in his cruiser to block off a section of 23rd Street after several cars had swerved to avoid hitting the man. Sergeant Nelson then tried to help the man across the lanes of travel and onto a sidewalk.
Once they were both safely on the sidewalk, he asked the man for his address, and the man suddenly became agitated. Suddenly, and without warning, the man punched Sergeant Nelson in the nose.
Sergeant Nelson struggled to gain control of the suspect, and the fight continued until the sergeant was finally able to place the suspect into custody.
He was able to eventually handcuff him and the man was arrested for assaulting a police officer.
Sergeant Don Nelson suffered a broken nose and several cuts. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment and has been released.
No one else was injured.
Richmond PD released the following statement, “The department is relieved that Sergeant Nelson was able to go home to his family after this violent confrontation. He will recover from the broken nose and contusions he suffered for merely trying to help the man. This is yet another reminder of the dangers of our profession even as community guardians, attacks occur with no warnings and for no reason.”
It’s incidents like theses which can quickly take a turn for the worse. Thankfully this Richmond police sergeant was able to gain control of the suspect before more damage was done.
Would you be ready to aid an officer who was being assaulted by a suspect? We’d like to hear from you. Please let us know in the comments.