AUBURN, Wash. — Five young men didn’t hesitate to help free a King County Sheriff’s deputy who was on the ground and in a chokehold by a DUI suspect who had just caused a multi-car collision.
King County Sheriff’s Deputy Elliott was off duty and driving home through Auburn, Washington in her marked patrol car when she was flagged down to investigate a multi-vehicle accident caused by a man believed to be intoxicated.
Once she pulled over, Elliott checked for injuries following the collision and then noticed a man who was believed to have caused the accident walking away from the scene.
She ran to catch the man and informed him that he was not free to leave the scene. The suspect took a fighting stance and both ended up on the ground as she tried to detain him. The suspect managed to wrap his arms around her neck and put her in a chokehold. The deputy struggled with the suspect while at the same time trying not to lose consciousness.
According to a Facebook post by King County Sheriff’s Department, a group of young men told the suspect to “get off of her” and then jumped on the man. Elliott was then able to handcuff the man. She sustained minor injuries from the scuffle, according to the post.
The unidentified man was then arrested for felony assault of an officer and suspicion of DUI. The suspect also had multiple warrants for arrest including DUI, DWLS 1 and failure to have an ignition interlock.
In the photo on the Facebook post, Elliott can be seen embracing the teens, grateful that they jumped in to help.