During the arrest it appeared as though the suspect reached for the officer’s gun.
MMA fighter Mark Anthony Gonzales was on his way to BJJ training recently when he saw a San Antonio Police Department officer struggling with a man on the ground (per KENS5). When Gonzales saw that the officer was at risk of being overwhelmed by the man he was arresting, the fighter decided to join the fray.
Gonzales’ wife got the whole thing on camera and you can see it below:
A San Antonio Police officer was trying to arrest a suspect attempting to get away. Fortunately for the officer, Mark Anthony Gonzales is a trained MMA professional fighter. pic.twitter.com/m3eof2gr39
— The Daily Sneed™ ? (@Tr00peRR) September 6, 2021
The video shows Gonzales and the officer, named only as Officer Linville in local reports, holding a man named Jack Albert Evans. Evans appears to be bleeding from the face. Gonzales and the officer struggle to gain control of Evans, who at one point appears to reach for the officer’s gun, which is holstered at his waist.
Gonzales and the officer are then able to fully gain control of the Evans’ arms and eventually cuff them behind his back. Once Evans is cuffed the officer radios for back-up.
Local news reports that Evans was being arrested over an outstanding warrant for unauthorized use of a vehicle. In addition to his original charge Evans has now been charged with attempting to take a weapon from an officer, evading arrest and felon in possession of a firearm. He has been jailed on a $101,000 bond.
In an interview with KENS5 Gonzales backs up the claim that Evans was going for the officer’s gun. “I was able to calmly pry his fingers away from the weapon and in the video you hear me telling the officer, ‘I got it, go ahead.’”
Gonzales credited his martial arts training for enabling him to aid the officer and bring the situation to a non-lethal conclusion.
“These guys helped me. My professor and everybody here helped me get to this point where I was able to calmly assess the situation and lend a helping hand.”
Gonzales added that he has not always had a completely positive opinion of law enforcement. However, he said that this did not factor into his decision to step in and help Officer Lindville.
“I had no relationship with law enforcement, or with the system,” he said. “I despised it because of what I’ve gone through, but that’s not me as a person. I still went out of my way because I knew it was the right thing to do.”