[Audio] Eurekan recounts helping cops arrest large man hulking out on drugs; Humboldt’s last week of news

In the latest episode of Humboldt Last Week: The city of Eureka honored a man for helping cops arrest a large man — possibly 6-foot-4 — who was on drugs and violently resisting. They even gave him a rare award for helping officers after they struggled with the suspect for two-and-a-half minutes. The story begins at 12:36.

“I kind of hesitated but it wasn’t a very long hesitation,” said honoree Tom Sanders. “Five seconds and I just jumped in. And I got (residually) tased in the meantime. It was nothing like a house shock — it was more like a 220 (volt) shock. So we got him stuffed and cuffed and more officers showed up, helped out, and got him in the (police) vehicle.”

“Sergeant Ed Wilson and I were beyond exhausted, and if not for Tom’s assistance, there is no telling how much longer the suspect would have continued to fight us,” said Officer Greg Hill in a release.

In the podcast, Sanders recounts the events that occurred the morning of the incident after police received a call about a suspect siphoning gas. He also comments on helping others and receiving EPD’s rare Valor-Service Challenge Coin Award.

“We’ve only handed out a few of these awards since the program’s inception,” Captain Steve Watson told Redheaded Blackbelt. “It’s a rare and well-deserved honor for which Tom was nominated by the officers whom he helped.”

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Tom Sanders with EPD staff