Intense video footage of a police officer’s life-or-death struggle with a suspect is the subject of the latest in the popular ‘Gracie Breakdown’ series.
Lieutenant William Weldon had been dispatched to investigate a burglar alarm going off at a jewelry store in Bradenton, Florida at approximately 4a.m on Sunday, April 4th.
When he arrived he discovered that a window had been smashed, and inside found 23-year-old suspect, Isaac Hernandes Dubon.
At first Dubon appears compliant and Weldon holsters his weapon in order to cuff him, but at the suspect then starts to resist and a struggle ensues.
As a teacher of military and law enforcement professionals, Jiu-Jitsu ace Rener Gracie is the perfect person to breakdown the ensuing chaos captured on the surveillance camera, noting how Weldon initially catches Dubon in a standing headlock, pressing him up against a nearby counter.
Weldon, who later admitted that, I was afraid for my life, then has the presence of mind to check that his gun is still securely holstered as his considerably younger adversary reaches for it.
Weldon maintains his balance when his attacker tries to execute an inside trip, but the increasingly desperate Dubon then really begins to fight dirty, fish-hooking the 15-year police veteran in both of his eye sockets and mouth.
That forces Weldon to break free momentarily and Dubon then grabs him in a headlock, but the officer is able to land a few punches and gets enough distance between himself and the suspect to draw his weapon.
Weldon’s vision is now blurred and he’s seeing four images of the suspect, but rather than wildly firing his weapon he instead reaches out to find where Dubon is and then manages to pistol-whip him to the floor, and mercifully backup arrives on the scene just moments later.
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Dubon has since been charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, unarmed burglary of an unoccupied structure, theft and resisting arrest with violence.
Weldon, who won’t be punished for hitting the suspect, has since been hailed as a hero and is currently on paid leave while he recovers from his injuries.
