SALISBURY — Salisbury Police Chief Patrick Smith honored three firefighters for their actions during an incident in June, where they helped gain control of a man who had jumped into a police officer’s vehicle and was attempting to grab the officer’s firearm and Taser.

The three firefighters, Allan Overcash, Luis Vazquez and Evan Martinez, each received a certificate of appreciation from Smith and the police officer they helped, Hunter Shue, as well as an award for commendable actions.

“This display of heroism need not go unnoticed. If not for the firefighters’ swift actions on this day, this could have ended deadly for Officer Shue, who was in a defenseless situation. And I want to thank firefighters Allan Overcash, Luiz Vazquez and Evan Martinez for the actions they took that day and reiterate that Salisbury is a team not divided by departments. These firefighters went above and beyond the call of duty placing themselves in harm’s way to assist Officer Shue that day,” said Smith.

The incident occurred on June 8, and began when a call came into emergency communications about a man having a seizure on the side of Standish Street. Shue was the first to arrive on the scene and drove up with his window down to attempt to speak with a man standing on the street. The man, who was identified at the time as 38-year-old Demario Antwan Brown, then ran approximately 30 feet and jumped through the window of Shue’s car.

Brown then allegedly began to grab for Shue’s firearm and Taser, all while scratching at his neck and face and speaking incoherently.

Shue reportedly attempted to keep Brown from reaching his firearm by pinning his hands to the vehicle while also attempting to reach for his radio. At some point during the struggle, Brown was allegedly able to remove Shue’s Taser holster from his vest and cause it to fall to the floor of the vehicle and knocked Shue’s shoulder radio off, preventing him from calling for assistance, said Smith.

At that point, the three firefighters arrived on scene and grabbed Brown, pulling him out of the vehicle.

“(Shue) was in a very precarious situation if you know how tight those quarters are with the equipment you also have on. Officer Shue told me he felt like he was fighting for his life for nearly an hour, when in reality it was three minutes. Firefighters from Station No. 3 arrived during the struggle and they immediately observed the legs sticking out of the driver’s side of the police vehicle and an officer in need. Without hesitation, they ran to the location and they pulled the suspect out,” said Smith.

Overcash, Vazquez and Martinez then reportedly helped control Brown until more officers arrived on scene and were able to take him into custody.

“This was a great example of the teamwork our agencies experience every day. Honestly, this isn’t the first time the fire department has come to my rescue, I have no shame in admitting that. My fiancee and I, I couldn’t get home fast enough to take the uniform off, and we drove right back into town and we went straight to Station No. 3 and sat down and talked to them for about 30 minutes. I have no shame and no humiliation in expressing my gratitude to these guys, but they definitely prevented a situation from going from very bad to catastrophic, that’s where I think it was headed,” said Shue.

Brown was charged following the incident with misdemeanor assault on a government official, misdemeanor injury to personal property, misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia and misdemeanor resisting, obstructing or delaying an officer. His next court date is scheduled for Sept. 18.