One violent man was detained in Nanaimo on Sunday after several bystanders rushed to the aid of an officer caught in a brawl with the alleged instigator.
At approximately 6 p.m., a Nanaimo RCMP officer arrived at Rutherford Rd near Highway 19A due to reports of a disturbance involving a man and a woman.
When the Mountie arrived, he located the woman who was wearing a bathing suit and appeared to be behaving erratically. The officer then tried to detain the woman for her own safety when the male arrived and began to throw punches and assault him.
“The officer and suspect ended up fighting and tumbled onto the ground where more punches and strikes were landed by both parties,” said Nanaimo RCMP in a release.
As the brawl continued, the suspect managed to break free from the struggle and tried to flee but was stopped by passing motorists who saw the incident unfold and exited their vehicles to assist the officer.
The civilians then held the man long enough for the officer to handcuff the suspect and place him in his cruiser.
“The officer worked the remainder of his shift but will be sporting a black eye and some bumps and bruises for his efforts,” said Cst. Gary O’Brien of the Nanaimo RCMP. “This is the second incident in less than one week in which bystanders have intervened in a violent altercation, and once again, we take our hats off to everyone who helped out.”
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“Some of the bystanders got a little banged up which is unfortunate but it’s sure nice to know that when the fight is on, our community members have our back.”
The 33-year-old man was then taken to the RCMP detachment where was charged with assaulting a police officer and a civilian. He has since been released with a promise to appear in court on April 9th.
Meanwhile, the 38-year-old erratic female ran away during the fight and was located by other officers and transported to hospital for a medical assessment.
