Caught on Tape: Inmates to the Rescue!

By: Barry Leibowitz
Topics: Caught on Tape

TAMPA, Fla. (CBS/AP) Inmates to the rescue!

A case of role-reversal was caught on security video at a Tampa, Florida jail. Four inmates came to the aid of a guard at the Orient Road Jail, after he was attacked by another prisoner.

The inmates helped save 64-year-old detention deputy Kenneth Moon on Monday afternoon after prisoner Douglas Burden charged him, put him in a choke hold and began strangling him.

Several prisoners with violent charges against them saw the commotion and came to Moon's rescue. One threw a punch that knocked Burden to the ground, and another reached for the deputy's radio and called for help. At least two others also came to Moon's aid.

The inmate-rescuers face charges including home invasion, attempted murder, cocaine trafficking, and even obstructing an officer. The sheriff's office is crediting them with saving the deputy from serious injury.

"We're just real lucky we're not dealing with a funeral right now," sheriff's deputy Larry McKinnon said Thursday.

To top it off, the Hillsborough County, Fla. Sheriff's Office will write letters to the inmates' attorneys that can be used on their behalf in court, Deputy Larry McKinnon said Thursday.

"This is just an indication that these guys that were in there for all these violent crimes still have some goodness in their hearts," McKinnon said.