TAMPA, Fla. — Several good Samaritans are being hailed as heroes after they stopped to help a Florida Highway Patrol trooper who was being attacked on the side of the freeway.
According to WFTV, the incident occurred about 10 a.m. Friday along Interstate 4 in Tampa. Trooper Jonathan Ruiz spotted a pedestrian, later identified as 24-year-old Alexander Hernandez-Delgado, walking on the left shoulder and pulled over, the arrest report said.
After Ruiz asked to see the pedestrian’s identification and conducted a search, Hernandez-Delgado punched the trooper’s face and began to run, according to the report. Hernandez-Delgado also punched Ruiz several times when the trooper tried to arrest him, the report said.
Ruiz said several drivers stopped to help the trooper during the attack, which was captured on dashcam video, according to WFTV. The footage appears to show Ruiz struggling with a man clad in a Mickey Mouse shirt as multiple passers-by stop to assist the trooper.
Thanks to the good Samaritans’ help, Ruiz said he was able to arrest Hernandez-Delgado, authorities said.
The FHP said Ruiz suffered a bloody nose in the attack, according to WFTV.
Hernandez-Delgado was booked on charges of battery on an officer and violently resisting law enforcement, the news outlet reported.