A New Jersey man accused of attacking his wife on the Atlantic City Boardwalk fought with an off-duty cop who attempted to intervene, as another off-duty officer drew his gun on the armed suspect.
The woman identified her husband as the man who was arrested Sunday morning, and said she blames the cops for causing the chaos, according to Philadelphia’s ABC 6.
Atlantic City cops said Lt. James Herbert was participating in the Seedorf/McMeekin Memorial 5K Run when he spotted a man on the beach holding a woman in a headlock and trying to pull her under the boardwalk.
Herbert instructed another runner to call 911 as he approached the couple in attempt to intervene while waiting for other officers to respond.
The suspect, 27-year-old Xontae Glass, then “pulled out a pocket knife and threatened Lieutenant Herbert with the weapon,” police said in a press release. That’s when the two got into a physical fight, including punches being thrown, according to witness video obtained by ABC 6.
Another off-duty cop, Capt. Scott Pollak of the Northfield Police Department, was also nearby and watched the violence unfold.
“Captain Pollak retrieved his off-duty weapon and gave verbal commands to Glass,” who dropped the knife and ran away, according to Atlantic City police. Cops said Glass tried to hide, but was pointed out by witnesses.
Michelle Hawthorne told ABC 6 that what the cops perceived as a “violent incident” between herself and her husband was just your average dispute between spouses. She also claimed that neither of the men who approached them identified themselves as cops, and said Glass pulled the knife in self-defense as the fight broke out.
“This was just a random jogger to us,” Hawthorne told the station. “[Herbert] was throwing him around, kept punching him in the face, and then out of nowhere, another stranger to us, just another regular person, rides up on a bike, pulls a gun out, aims it at my husband.”
Glass was taken into custody after on-duty officers arrived at the scene. While being transported to the police station, “Glass became combative leading to an injury sustained by Officer Aaron McKim,” cops alleged.
Glass was subsequently charged with simple assault, aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. He was remanded to the Atlantic County Justice Facility.
A detention hearing is scheduled for Friday, according to NJ Advance Media.
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact the Atlantic City Police Department Criminal Investigations Section.
