An officer with the Metro Nashville Police Department was called to break up a fight in the early morning hours on Sunday. When she arrived and attempted to stop a man from beating another man with a part of a pool cue, the assailant turned on the officer, police say.
According to WSMV-TV, Officer Autumn Manning responded to a disturbance in the empty lot of a closed gas station around three in the morning and saw the attacker bludgeoning the victim with the blunt object.
Manning reportedly ordered the attacker—identified as 34-year-old Marcelo Mendoza—to stop the assault. He refused and as Manning attempted to take him into custody he allegedly launched his attack on the officer.
The 39-year-old beating victim—who has not been identified—intervened in the confrontation between the attacker and the officer, causing Mendoza to flee the area on foot.
Manning was transported to a nearby hospital, where she was treated and released.
Mendoza reportedly remains at large.
