A bystander’s video captured a Thanksgiving altercation that erupted when a man threw a plastic water bottle at an off-duty Columbia police officer in his cruiser.
Source officer.com News
A man randomly attacked an off-duty South Carolina police officer on Thanksgiving, throwing a water bottle at his cruiser and then punching the officer before he was subdued.
The altercation, which was captured on video by a by bystander, happened at about 11 a.m. when a Columbia police off pulled up alongside another vehicle at a traffic light, WIS-TV reports. That’s when the driver in the other vehicle tossed a plastic water bottle at the officer’s cruiser.
Thinking something was wrong, the officer exited his vehicle and confronted. The two fought, with the video showing the man throwing punches before the officer pinned him against his cruiser and deployed his Taser.
The man was treated at the scene, and he was charged with assaulting an officer while resisting arrest and public disorderly conduct. According to police, the suspect said the reason he attacked the officer was because “it’s Thanksgiving. I didn’t have anyone to spend it with, I might as well take it out on y’all.”
The officer was back on the job Friday.