IMPD officer breaks leg while wrestling beard-yanking man

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A police officer — called a “devil” by the man they were arresting — broke their lower leg while wrestling a suspect to the ground Tuesday night.

Tuesday night around 9:30 p.m., the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department says that 52-year-old Robert Sanders Jr., “without provocation,” approached a person and yanked on their beard. “An uninvolved witness confirmed this story,” IMPD said in a press release.

Officers found Sanders “pacing back and fourth while yelling at the hotel” near Jackson Place and South Illinois Street in downtown Indianapolis. The officers told Sanders to put his hands behind his back, and with a yell he retorted by calling them “devils.”

IMPD says a fight broke out between Sanders and the officers. In the wrestle, which had IMPD backup entering into the arena, officers were able to arrest Sanders, but not without injury.

One of the officers injured their ankle. After getting it checked out in the hospital, it was confirmed to be a broken fibula, the smaller of the two bones in your lower leg.

“Yesterday, two of our officers were injured in the line of duty, one who was shot, and another while trying to take someone into custody who chose to resist arrest. These incidents are clear reminders of the risks our officers face every single day. I’m grateful both are expected to recover, and I want to thank them for their courage and commitment to protecting our city,” IMPD Chief Bailey said in a press release.

Sanders arrested under three preliminary charges, including battery against a police officer.

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