British off-duty officer tackles suspect to save American cop in Nashville
Nashville: A British policeman on holiday in Nashville has been hailed a hero after helping save the life of a local officer during a roadside assault.
Off-duty Sgt. Taylor Johanson from Ashford, Kent, had been in Tennessee for about ten minutes when he saw Officer Peter Kinsey being attacked on the side of the I-440 exit ramp around 8 p.m. on May 7.Johanson, driving a rented Jeep Wrangler, stopped immediately. “I saw the police car parked up and could see two people fighting on the floor,” the 34-year-old told SWNS news. “The suspect was on top of the officer and he was head-butting him, punching him, biting him.”
Officer Kinsey said he had approached a 43-year-old pedestrian walking along the exit ramp after the man ignored commands to stop. The pedestrian then attacked him, pinning the officer face-down for about six minutes.
During the assault, the suspect grabbed Officer Kinsey’s holstered gun and fired a round. Johanson rushed in, tackled the suspect, and held him down while his girlfriend Emily, also a constable in England, called for backup. Officer Kinsey was then able to taser and handcuff the man.“I hadn’t really thought about it to be honest. It was only really afterwards when I realized the gravity of what was going on,” Johanson said. “Natural instinct kicked in — that fight or flight.
”Officer Kinsey described the ordeal as “traumatic” but credited Johanson’s quick action with preventing further harm. Local police have praised the couple’s response.
