Good Samaritans Come to the Aid of Police Officer During Arrest

Good samaritans come to the rescue of a Tulsa police officer during an attempt to arrest a suspect. Officer Tim O'Keefe was at his home Monday night recovering from a bruised spine.<br> <br>The men

Monday, December 20th 1999, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Good samaritans come to the rescue of a Tulsa police officer during an attempt to arrest a suspect. Officer Tim O'Keefe was at his home Monday night recovering from a bruised spine.

The men who helped Oâ€™Keefe say they did nothing special. They saw someone who needed help and jumped in. They realized later that if the suspect wouldâ€™ve had a gun, they could've been hurt, even killed.

It all started when two men in a car, crashed into a pole. The four men, who had just arrived at work, heard the crash and went to help. They put the fire out, broke the car window and pulled the two men inside to safety. They watched the driver run away and they say the passenger got mad at them. He was still upset when the police officer got to the scene. "The cops asked him to come over to where they were and he said â€˜no.â€™ Thatâ€™s when they tried to arrest him and he resisted, so they sprayed him with mace."

The witness says thatâ€™s when the fight began. He said the suspect and the police officer wrestled until the suspect slammed the officer to the ground, freeing himself. That's when the citizens tackled the suspect and held him until another police officer arrived.

The men are all shy and none of them really wanted to talk about the experience. They say they weren't just going to stand by and watch somebody get the best of a police officer who was just doing his job.