Good Samaritans in Tampa, Florida step in to help officers with suspect:

“It goes bad very, very quickly,” said Steve Hegarty, a spokesperson for the Tampa Police Department. “He reacts pretty violently and you see what happens. There’s a very serious scuffle.”

“A man was watching when the suspect is trying to grab the gun of one of the officers and sees what’s happening. He jumps in and he grabs him in a bear-hug. And that makes all the difference in the world,” Hegarty said.

A taxi driver got out of his cab and joined the fray to help police, as did two more Good Samaritans including an off-duty deputy.

“The fact that nobody ended up with any serious injuries here and the guy ended up being taken to jail for a battery on a law enforcement officer,” said Hegarty, “that’s probably the best outcome you could possibly hope for given what happened in that video.”

Police said it’s fortunate no one was shot during the incident.

“It didn’t really dawn on me until afterward and then you think about and think somebody could have gotten killed, easily,” he said, adding that wouldn’t stop him from making the same decision for one important reason. “They risk their lives every day for us.”

This is so great to see!