Prisoner Takes Down Fellow Inmate During Vicious Attack On Officer

An Oklahoma jail inmate bear-hugged a fellow prisoner into submission to stop his violent assault on a detention officer.

Robert Hammock came to the rescue of officer Matthew Hudson after Tashka Maret began kicking and punching him at Payne County Jail on Aug. 8.

Surveillance footage that emerged this week shows Hammock, waiting nearby to be processed for release, walking over and wrapping his arms around Maret.

Hammock and Hudson topple Maret to the ground and pin him down, as other officers that Hudson had previously called for assistance run in to help.

Officials said no one was injured in the attack.

Maret, 24, was initially booked into the jail on public intoxication and petit larceny charges. He now faces an additional charge of assault on a police officer, which, if convicted, carries a possible five-year sentence.

Budget cuts have led to fewer detention officers being employed on the floor at the facility, said Capt. Kevin Woodward of the Payne County Sheriff’s Office. “It does make it a little more dangerous for the people,” he told KOCO 5 News.

While he was grateful for Hammock’s timely intervention, Woodward urged other inmates to be cautious. “We certainly wouldn’t want anybody to try and be a good Samaritan and get hurt in the process,” he said.