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Video captures intense fight between Phila. officer and suspect

Surveillance video captures a fight between a police officer and a man who was threatening to shoot passengers
Man attacks police officer on Philadelphia's SEPTA platform 01:19

PHILADELPHIA - A suspect's attack on a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority police officer on a subway platform Monday was caught on surveillance video, reports CBS Philly.

Referring to the video, SEPTA Inspector of Operations Steve Harold told the station, "[T]he battle here is intense. I mean, [the suspect] is definitely trying to hurt this officer." The man being attacked was SEPTA officer Ronald Jones.

The attack occurred on a subway platform at Broad and Fairmount in Philadelphia in front of a train full of passengers. The suspect - who reportedly boarded a stop earlier and is accused of threatening to shoot passengers - got off the train after Jones confronted him, reports CBS Philly.

"There was a man on the train saying that he had a gun and he was threatening to shoot passengers," Harold said. CBS Philly reports that the suspect is believed to have been on drugs.

After the suspect got onto the platform, the situation escalated and the two began fighting. The video shows Jones using pepper spray and his baton to try and apprehend the suspect, who is undeterred and continues attacking the officer. The two men are rolling on the ground when passengers get off the train to assist.

"That's great that people jumped in because I've heard horror stories of people just sitting there watching. Really bad things happen," subway rider Michael Warhola told CBS Philly.

"We have had many situations where passengers just stood by and watched and, even worse, took video," said transit agency spokeswoman Jerri Williams. "And in this particular incident we do have a number of people who did take videos and have posted those, but at least we also had those great passengers who came forward."

The fight lasted for seven minutes and left both men bloodied. During the altercation, the suspect appears to reach for the officer's gun. He was eventually taken into custody after backup arrived at the scene, according to the station.

"Almost all passengers on board that train hailed [Jones] as a hero and said that officer used great restraint in the way he managed the situation," said Harold.

The station reports that Jones suffered minor injuries and was treated and released from a nearby hospital.

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