D.C. Homeless Man Saves Officer Responding to a Call For a Woman Being Assaulted From Stabbing

According to local reports, a police officer responding to a call for a woman being assaulted, was stabbed in the head in downtown D.C. early Thursday and a homeless man, John Burrows, intervened to save him, possibly saving his life, Chief of Police Peter Newsham said.

“It would not surprise me. Our police officers, as you know, deal with folks who are homeless on a daily basis and generally when they’re dealing with those folks in the community, they do it in a very empathetic and compassionate way and it wouldn’t surprise me if that were the case… It does make me feel good to see that a guy who our police officer, as you have said, developed a relationship with, was willing to put himself in jeopardy to protect one of our police officers. That’s something, that’s something we won’t forget. It was very, very kind. Very heroic. I’m sure at some point I’ll have an opportunity to meet him and say thank you.” Newsham said at a news conference.

In an interview with NBC4 Washington, Burrows said the man attacked the officer when “he tried to talk to the suspect.” He said that he grabbed the suspect’s arm and him and the cop together got him under control so he “couldn’t stab him no more.”

“I grabbed the guy’s arm and me and the cop got him under control so he couldn’t stab him no more.” John Burrows helped save a D.C. police officer who was being attacked https://t.co/E48wnpC0El pic.twitter.com/mKdpFxEQsZ

— NBCWashington (@nbcwashington) July 2, 2020

From NBC Washington:

A 61-year-old man who also is homeless was arrested and charged with assault with intent to kill an officer. Investigators have not been able to determine a possible motive, Newsham said. There was no indication he had any link to the racial justice demonstrations that have been held downtown for weeks.

Burrows told News4 he had previously met the Second District officer and was just doing the right thing. 

“I grabbed the guy’s arm and me and the cop together got him under control so he couldn’t stab him no more. He got arrested, the cop went to the hospital and I guess I’m like a little hero,” he said. 

Burrows said he was angry when he saw the man attacking the officer.

“I was really mad at the guy, for just stabbing him for no reason. That made me mad,” he said. “They’re my cops. This is my city and I don’t want you stabbing them.”

A gofundme has been setup for Burrows.