Crime & Safety

Man Tries to Grab Cop's Gun on Freehold Road

The man lunged at the officer on Freehold Road near Main Street, police allege.

Manalapan, NJ - A Freehold man tried to grab the gun from a Manalapan police officer on Freehold Road (County Rt. 522) on Dec. 2, township police say.

That evening, at about 7:30 p.m., a driver alerted Manalapan Police Officer Christopher Makwinski that a man was standing in the middle of Freehold Road, near Main Street, looking suspicious and holding a large duffel bag.

The officer approached the man, and tried to talk to him, and that’s when the man lunged at the officer and tried to grab his service weapon, police said.

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Another officer had responded to the scene, Patrolman Christopher Oleksy, and the two officers were able to prevent the man from grabbing the gun and tackled him to the ground.

The man continued to fight the officers, but he was eventually handcuffed and arrested. Andres Salvador Mateo, 36, of Freehold, was charged with attempting to disarm a police officer, and assault on a police officer, among other charges.

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