Arlington

Arlington Police Officer Gets Backup from Citizens to Arrest Aggressive Suspect

An Arlington police officer is feeling grateful for his training and for some alert citizens who rushed to help him when he chased and took down an aggressive man who was threatening drivers.

It happened Tuesday afternoon in the middle of Green Oaks Boulevard in Southwest Arlington.

It was right next to an elementary school where kids were leaving to go home, and the officer knew the stakes were high to end a dangerous situation safely.

Officer Richard Morrison rides alone, knowing every moment on the streets can turn on him.

"I guarantee you my heart rate was up," said Morrison, of the dangerous incident Tuesday afternoon.

It was near the end of his shift, when a citizen flagged him down.

"Saying that there was an individual parked in the middle of the roadway," Morrison recalled. "He was acting strangely, being aggressive, lunging at vehicles as they were driving by."

The man even threatened a woman with a knife, witnesses said. Alone, Morrison took off after the guy, backing off when the man sped too fast.

"We've got the elementary school down there, school zone coming up," said Morrison.

Then he spotted the car, stopped at a red light, and jumped out, gun drawn.

"I can see that he doesn't have any weapons, but he starts to approach me aggressively. At that point, I transitioned from my firearm to my Taser," said Morrison.

The man kept coming and Morrison had to deploy the Taser four times to get him under control, catching the attention of passing drivers.

"I knew he was by himself, and when I saw the guy get back up after he was being Tased, I was like this might get a lot worse than it should be," said witness Andrew Drake.

Drake was one of at least four citizens who stopped to help, two of them helping getting the guy in handcuffs.

"It's an honor, of course, to serve the citizens but to have our citizens serve us as well and recognize there's an officer that needs help, that's the best feeling in the world," said Morrison.

Police later found a knife and three loaded guns in the guy's car, including an AK47. Morrison knows this could have gone so much worse.

But the solo officer who ended his day with a crew of backup can't feel anything but grateful.

"It's a wonderful feeling and we thank them," said Morrison.

The man who was arrested also hit Morrison on the chest at one point and spit on another officer. He faces a series of charges, from aggravated assault to assault on a peace officer.

Police say he also claimed to have connections to a terrorist group. Federal agents are checking into that, but have no credible evidence yet. Police believe he was under the influence of some kind of drug.

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