A wanted felon violently attacked a police officer last week in Portage, Indiana. The wanted man may have gotten away from law enforcement if it wasn’t for a former MMA fighter volunteering his particular set of skills to incapacitate the felon.
William Cassoday, 39, was on his way with his wife to visit his mother on Monday afternoon to show her their new car. While driving, he noticed a Porter County Sheriff’s Office patrolman being punched in the face and he immediately pulled over to help the brutalized cop.
Unfortunately for the felon, Cassoday is an ex-MMA fighter and a Brazilian jiu-jitsu trainer.
Cassoday – who is working on getting his black belt and has been training on and off for 13 years – took down the felon with ease.
“I’m 280 pounds – this guy was probably half my size,” Cassoday said.
Cassoday came up from behind and put his arm around the felon’s neck, then used his other arm to tighten the grip in a rear-naked choke.
“He couldn’t do anything because I was squeezing on his neck and then he kinda felt like he went limp for a second and so I loosen[ed] it up,” Cassoday told WMAQ-TV.
Cassoday pinned the man within 15 seconds, and the police officer recovered to handcuff the suspect.
The Porter County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect as 37-year-old Christopher Delgado.
Porter County Sheriff’s Office patrolman Jamison Smith noticed Delgado walking down the street and stopped him for an outstanding warrant for auto theft. Delgado allegedly attacked Smith during the confrontation.
Delgado was arrested and charged with battery, resisting arrest, and providing false information to police.
Patrolman Smith suffered swelling above his right eye from a punch, but is reportedly “going to be OK,” according to officials.
While being pinned to the ground, Delgado allegedly told Cassoday that he should be a cop. Cassoday replied, “It’s not something I would be interested in. They don’t get enough credit for what they do.”
Cassoday’s wife – Marisa McDaniel – said, “Not a lot of people would have done that. He was very courageous. He didn’t have to think twice, he did what he had to do.”
Law enforcement officials said they “cannot thank Mr. William Cassoday enough for his courageous actions.”
“Putting his own safety aside, he ran into harm’s way, assisting Officer Smith in taking a felon into custody,” said Porter County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Benjamin McFalls said, according to the Lake Geneva Regional News.
“Mr. Cassoday willingly jumped into a fight, in which our officer was being violently attacked,” McFalls added. “Mr. Cassoday exemplified what it means to be a resident of Porter County. We will be honoring him in the near future.”