TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The Founder of “The Wounded Blue,” an organization dedicated to helping law enforcement injured in the line of duty, is praising the good Samaritans who stopped along I-4 Friday to help a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper who was under attack while trying to help a pedestrian.
“The cops can’t do it all themselves,” Randy Sutton, the organization’s founder said.
Several drivers came to the rescue of the FHP officer who was punched in the face Friday by 24-year-old Alexander Hernandez Delgado.
“Every officer, doesn’t matter what community they serve, is in danger, every single day that they’re out on the streets,” he added.
Dash camera video showed the dramatic encounter between the trooper and Hernandez Delgado, who was walking along I-4 because his mother had kicked him out of the house.
When the trooper asked if he could search Hernandez Delgado, he agreed.
Shortly after, the trooper tried to get Hernandez Delgado in the back of his patrol car. That’s when the 24-year-old allegedly became “argumentative” and told the trooper to leave him alone.
The trooper said he told Hernandez Delgado he was just trying to help him off the highway and again tried to get him to go into the patrol car. The dash camera video shows Delgado pull away and throw a punch at the trooper’s face.
FHP said Delgado tried to run, but the trooper quickly caught up. The 24-year-old threw several more punches striking the trooper, the release added.
As the scuffle broke out, several civilians stopped to assist the trooper.
Authorities said Delgado suffered a minor cut on his chin while the trooper suffered a bloody nose as a result of this incident.
In a news release, FHP thanked “all the Good Samaritans that stopped … on I-4 in Tampa to help our Trooper.”
Hernandez Delgado has been charged with battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting officer with violence.
