BENSON, Arizona -- An Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper helped save a man being trampled by a bull last month.
Trooper Brandon Jacquez was driving home after a shift on Jan. 3 when he received a call about a bull attack in Benson, according to a news release.
As the closest law enforcement officer in the area, Jacquez immediately drove to the residence and was led to the scene by neighbors and witnessed an older man being trampled and gored by a bull. The man was on the ground, severely injured and not moving. Despite persistent efforts, his neighbors had been unable to stop the animal.
Working together, Jacquez and one of the neighbors quickly formed a plan to draw the bull’s attention away from the man. When the bull finally moved slightly farther away from the victim, the trooper used lethal force on the animal to prevent further attacks.
Jacquez and the neighbors rendered aid to the victim until paramedics arrived and airlifted him to a hospital. Despite suffering life-threatening injuries, a neighbor says the victim is "amazingly tough and determined to recover." She also credits Jacquez with helping prevent further injury to the victim, as well as her husband, who had initially tried to stop the attack himself.
"Trooper Jacquez put his life on the line to help both the victim and my husband," she said. "If he had not been there…I fear the outcome might have been very different. In my mind he is a hero for being instrumental in preventing what could have been an unthinkable tragedy."
