Anchorage police say an off-duty officer’s arm was broken when he tried to arrest a man who was yelling profanities at diners in a West Anchorage restaurant Wednesday night.
Just after 6 p.m., a man in his late 20s reportedly entered the Rustic Goat restaurant on Turnagain Street and began verbally assaulting diners, according to a prepared statement from Anchorage Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Castro. Someone familiar with the man unsuccessfully attempted to get him to leave, but the man instead began screaming profanities at a woman dining with another man.
An off-duty officer dining at the restaurant identified himself to the suspect and escorted him out of the building. Once outside, the man allegedly began assaulting the officer and broke the officer’s arm in the process, Castro wrote. The officer was able to eventually arrest the man with the help of another individual on scene.
Other officers arrived on scene to take custody of the suspect, who was taken to a nearby hospital. Castro says it is believed the suspect was under the influence of drugs at the time of the incident. Charges against him are pending.
The off-duty officer was also taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of his arm.